


a sin of symbiosis

by Azker



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Multi, Mutually Unrequited, Post-Canon, Shameless Smut, Suicidal Ideation, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, catching feelings, fluffy afterglows, half porn half character study tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24453049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azker/pseuds/Azker
Summary: If there exists a cure for loneliness, neither has ever found it. Stricken and sullied with grief, Yuuki and Aido attempt to find refuge in one another, but will it be the undoing of them both?
Relationships: Aidou Hanabusa/Cross Yuuki, Aidou Hanabusa/Wakaba Sayori, Cross Yuuki/Kiryuu Zero, Cross Yuuki/Kuran Kaname
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. an impulse

He is meeting with a group of wealthy investors when she stumbles into the conference hall, her eyes glistening, her robe disheveled as the door clatters behind her. A reverent hush falls upon the room, followed shortly by murmurings and darting eyes, a picturesque scene of broken etiquette. His eyes meet hers, an unasked question in his serious gaze.

“I need to speak with you… Aido-senpai.” Her voice is small and feeble as it carries across the room.

The nobles shuffle uncomfortably as he dismisses them, and they slowly file out of the room, carrying with them whispers of gossip. As the last one goes, he lets out a quiet breath before turning to face her. She seems so far away, the air between them heavy with silence. Neither takes a step toward the other.

“Yuuki-sama.”

Her eyes begin to well with tears. “Aido-senpai.”

“Kiryu, is he...”

“It’s too late,” she says, her voice wavering. “He’s gone, he’s gone and I’m…” Her knees buckle suddenly, her eyelids sliding shut. “…I feel so tired, senpai.”

He’s in front of her in a flash, grasping her firmly by the shoulders. “Y...Yuuki Cross! Don’t just fall asleep—!!”

Suddenly, her arms slip around his waist. He freezes, dumbfounded, and his grip on her loosens when she unexpectedly buries her face into his chest.

“...W-What’re you…” he stammers. When she doesn’t move away, he tentatively draws his arms around her. He can feel the erratic rise and fall of her chest against him. Is she crying? He tries not to think about it as his heartbeat hammers in his ears.

When she lifts her chin to look at him, her eyes are a bright crimson. Her line of sight fixes upon his neck, and he curses his pounding heart as his arms fall away from her. Her hunger doesn’t surprise him, not really—in retrospect, he should have been prepared for it. It’s no secret that her hunter counterpart had been drinking incessantly from her since his health began its decline, and Zero had been in no state to offer the same to her. No doubt it’s been some time since she placated her thirst.

She hooks her fingers into his shirt as she reaches for the button around his collar. She’s unclasped it before he has time to react, and then the next one, and the next one.

“W-Wait a second…”

She tugs open his collar, exposing his collarbone. When her fangs cleanly pierce his jugular, his eyes clamp shut, a groan slipping out of his mouth. His hands instinctively clench around the fabric of her coat, pulling her body tightly against him.

How long has it been since he last replenished the blood that a lover had drained from her…? Several centuries have passed, yet so little has changed between them. A wave of pleasure washes over him as her lips form a tight seal against his neck, pumping hot ribbons of his blood into her mouth. As his veins yield to her suckling, the sounds of surging, roaring blood fill his mind and leave him breathless and reeling.

(Still, despite her desperation, she’s being less greedy this time. He can’t help but ponder, _"Why is it always me in these weird situations?")_

Once the initial ecstasy wears off, he becomes keenly aware of how her body feels against his, how strands of her hair feel balled up in his fists. His face grows hotter still as he comprehends the direction in which his thoughts are rapidly turning—

Suddenly, a bead of blood trickles down her chin, dripping onto his shirt and jarring him back to his senses. “H-Hey!! You’re not being careful—!”

She wrenches herself from him at his outburst, eyes wide as she examines the stain and then his face. He becomes flustered when he realizes she’s caught him blushing, but he's well aware that it’s already too late; the taste of his blood is all she needs to realize what he’s been thinking. As the burgundy color returns to her eyes, her expression goes somber for just a moment. A twinge of guilt stirs up inside of him. "Sorry," she says, the knuckles of her hands pressed against his chest as she averts her eyes. "I should have known that this would happen... I was being selfish."

"It's… It’s fine. I'll get changed before my next meeting," he says quickly, eyebrows creased as he turns his face away. "And... you have some on your face."

He hardly feels the touch of her hand on his jaw before it turns commanding. She whirls his face towards her, crushing their lips together. Startled, a complaint rises in his throat, but her mouth muffles the sound. Her grip holds his chin steady as she pulls her lips from his.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it...?" she says, breath hot and coppery, into his mouth.

He blushes furiously, breaking away from her and taking an unsteady step backward. He waves his arms out in front of him. "Listen, you—! What you felt back there... that wasn’t...! R-Rather, you must have misread—!!”

"It's alright, Aido-senpai."

He opens his mouth, and for just a moment, is convinced he is going to leave her there. He will return to his home, procure a change of clothes, and go about his night as if this ordeal never happened. He will play the role of aristocrat and scientist and renowned genius and nothing more, and when he retires to bed in the morning, he will know exactly who he is.

Then, something inside of him snaps, something ugly and selfish. It snaps and leaves him standing there a moment too long, wholly lost in her vacant expression as her hands—once curled over his chest—hang in the air for two seconds too long.

He takes a step toward her.

His hands find the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her hair, and he captures her mouth with his. Her fingers glide down his shirt, fumbling from button to button until it falls completely open, and she urgently tugs the sleeves down his arms. He shrugs the coat off of her shoulders and it slips to the ground. Their kisses grow heated, more intense, as he gropes for the zipper of her dress and pulls it down, revealing her white shoulders.

Just as her fingers begin to travel the seam of his pants, he lifts her into the air, wrapping her legs around him. He sets her down on the conference table, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses over her neck and clavicle as he slides the dress down to her waist, exposing her breasts. His arms curl around her middle, pressing her warm chest flush against his own as his lips return to hers. Her expression grows impatient as she loosens the belt around his pants and then moves to the opening of his slacks. Once it comes free, his pants slip down his legs and his erection springs forth, underwear stretched taut against his plain, unabashed desire.

“In my pocket,” he pants, voice hoarse, never taking his hands off her. Even in his hazy state of mind, he knows the importance of _safety first._ “In my—my billfold—”

She catches his lower lip with her teeth, effectively shushing him, and his eyes roll back. “Don’t need it,” she whispers. “Not—Not right now.”

He can hardly remember, in this heated moment, what is and isn’t scientifically proven about natural pureblood reproduction and the extent to which it can be controlled, but he still has enough sense to remind himself that it is purebloods themselves who know best about matters of this nature. And if a tantalizing pureblood woman is telling him he needn’t roll a contraceptive onto his plump dick, he’s going to press into her and not the issue.

That’s where his thoughts altogether cease and their remaining articles of clothing are discarded, their eyes clenched shut, teeth gnashing as their mouths greedily take in the taste of the other. Her fingernails dig into his back when he closes the only remaining distance between them with a nimble parting of her legs. As the tip of him enters her, they moan into each others' mouths, and his eyelids lightly part to take in her face. Her cheeks are flushed, eyelashes dotted with tears, brows knotted with anticipation. She presses her pelvis into him, swallowing his length.

They aren't gentle as their bodies meet over and over again, overtaken by carnal instinct, the wooden tabletop groaning under the force of their fervor. She plunges her fangs into the base of his neck, and with the sounds of crashing waves ringing in his ears, it isn’t long before he whimpers and buckles and empties himself inside of her.

His pace begins to slow as he reels from his climax, but she pushes him deeper into her, desperate to continue, her hips rocking against him as she runs her tongue over the weeping, swollen bitemarks on his neck. She tugs intently on the backs of his shoulders, and he climbs on top of her, palms pressed to the table on both sides of her face. Their eyes lock, hers fire and lust, his ice and ambivalence as his reality comes spinning back into focus.

“Keep going,” she tells him decisively, lips stained a deep red.

A small part of him wonders if this is the first time she’s used her pureblood powers to command one of their own kind. He obeys, knowing full well it’s not his choice to make.

He figures he deserves that much.

Once she’s satisfied, she wriggles out from beneath him, allowing him to rest his weight upon her. His agency gradually returns to him, and when he thinks he's collected his thoughts, he glances up into her face. As her finger draws a semicircle on his shoulder, there's melancholy just behind her eyes.

“Er…” he manages to make out, cheeks growing hot, eyebrows pressing together. He doesn’t meet her eyes as he clamors to his knees and pushes himself from the table. He wordlessly gathers up his clothes, pretending not to notice her gaze upon him.

“This shouldn't have happened,” he mutters, his back to her naked form as he slips into his briefs. “Things went too far, I… I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

She pulls her knees tightly against her chest as her eyes follow his movements. She remains silent.

“I’ll take responsibility for this,” he decides, stiffly.

“There was a part of me that wanted it, too,” she says quietly. “Please don’t… treat me like a child you have to make excuses for, Aido."

The sound of her saying his name without the honorific is enough to make the tips of his ears burn, and he can hardly look at her as he extends to her a mass of crumpled clothes. “Then you weren’t thinking either, Yuuki Cross.” he spits out. The defensiveness in his tone is palpable, and he doesn’t bother to check for her reaction.

After several seconds, she takes her clothes from him, and they quietly dress themselves. As he fastens the last button around his collar, he remains with his back turned to her, dazed as he tries to sort through what he’s feeling. Suddenly, two thin arms snake around his waist from behind, and he stiffens at the touch.

“Sorry,” she says softly. “I took advantage of you.”

“If that’s what you think, then…” A bitter, self-deprecating chuckle leaves his mouth. “It seems we took advantage of each other.”

“Yes,” she says, smiling sadly into his shirt. “You might be right.”

He feels too constricted, too overstimulated, his nerve endings buzzing and burning under the areas she presses herself against. He attempts to shrink away from her, to no avail.

"What are you doing? You don’t have to take pity on me, you know,” he mumbles.

“…Huh?”

He roughly pushes her off of him, flushed and agitated as he turns to face her. “Stop pretending to not know my feelings about you. Stop acting as if you haven’t had the taste of my blood!”

He’s caught her off guard, and she actually has the audacity to look surprised. “Senpai… do you even know how you feel about me?”

He scoffs, taken aback, before scowling at her. “I know you’ve always been… maddening,” he says under his breath. “Reckless and incorrigible and maddening.”

“I can tell that you’ve felt responsible for me since Kaname left us both—“

“What’s with you bringing up Kaname-sama all of a sudden?!”

“You don’t need to feel like you have to take care of me anymore, Aido-senpai.”

There it is, another break deep inside of him, this one uglier than the last. He throws his hands in the air, fury flashing through his eyes. “Is that what you think?” he hisses, glaring down at her. “You think that just because we… that we… that _this_ happened, you can say these things?!”

“I didn’t mean to say anything that would hurt you,” she whispers. “The truth is… You’re my oldest friend… And you were Zero’s oldest friend, even if he would never admit it…”

She blinks away the tears that rise up at the corners of her eyes. He doesn’t know what to say, his body growing numb, the room seeming to whirl around him.

“I want you… to admit that you care about me, and not just because Kaname told you to!” she cries out, balling her fists at her sides. “Because I care about you, Aido-senpai!”

Everything falls quiet as tears pool over her thick lashes, streaming down her cheeks.

“Of course I care about you.” He says this calmly, firmly. “You’re one of the few I have left.”

They look each other in the eyes. Neither takes a step toward the other.

“I… I’ve got to get back to work. I have several more appointments today, and…” He looks down at the spot of blood on his shirt, and his face goes hot, the ramifications of what they’ve done hitting him all at once. “I’m going to need a change of clothes.”

“Please, just wait a minute,” she pleads, reaching toward him.

“I don’t have anything else to say to you, Yuuki Cross,” he murmurs, turning away from her.

He leaves her standing there. Without so much as a word to his assistants, he calls for a car, goes to his home, and takes a long bath. It is only then that he sends word that he won’t be making the rest of his meetings for the day. And when he lies alone in his bed waiting for sleep to overtake him, he knows exactly who he can never be to her.


	2. an offer you can't refuse

Several uneventful weeks pass him by as he quietly avoids her, and at the funeral of the hunter association president, his heartfelt regards to her are succinct.

"On behalf of the Aido family, I want to extend my sincere condolences," he says to her as he bows his head, his face not betraying a single one of his feelings.

"Thank you, senpai," she says, her eyes notably redder than the day they last met.

He doesn't wait for her to dismiss him.

Later that month, when the heads of the major vampire clans meet with the hunter society to discuss the status of their treaty, they find themselves seated across the table from one another.

The pureblood stands at attention, seizing the eyes of every noble in the room. "As you all know, Zero has already selected a successor, one who has sworn to work tirelessly with the vampire race to maintain harmony between the two factions. I believe that this person will be an excellent president," she informs them. "Additionally, progress on the elixir has been ongoing, and Lord Aido has begun to expand his financial resources, reaching out to human organizations as his team continues to promote and enact their research. We hope that the association will continue to lend them their support, as this project benefits every one of us moving forward."

The meeting comes to a close not long after that, and as the room is dismissed, she catches his arm.

"Please stop avoiding me, Aido-senpai."

"Don't be ridiculous." He keeps his tone level as his eyes meet hers. "I'm not avoiding you."

"I want to talk to you."

He frowns. "I don't think that's a good ide—"

"It's alright, senpai. They’ve all left."

This takes him by surprise, and his head twists from side to side, eyes darting as he surveys the empty room. His composure shatters, his cheeks immediately beginning to burn.

"So they have," he says under his breath, avoiding her gaze.

"How have you been faring, Aido-senpai?" she asks him earnestly, eyes full of genuine concern.

"Don't make this harder than it already is, idiot pureblood," he snaps at her. "I'm not interested in... pouring out my heart to you or whatever it is you're looking to accomplish with this conversation." 

"I'm not going to apologize for what happened, and I don't want you to, either," she says, her burgundy eyes penetrating him. "It's not so bad to be utterly selfish every once in awhile, is it?"

He momentarily looks mortified, his whole face growing hot. "Wh... What are you saying?!"

"What I'm _saying_ is, I don't regret it," she huffs, folding her arms. "It's embarrassing to think about, but it was exactly what I needed, and I know you wanted it, too!"

"Y-You..." he stammers, his brain on fire, his energy rapidly depleting in the face of her verbal onslaught. "You're being too honest..." 

"If you aren't going to let things go back to the way they were, then..." she says thoughtfully, cheeks turning faintly red. "We should come to terms with this."

"What exactly are you getting at?" he asks, not sure he wants to hear her answer.

"Please, senpai, try not to overreact—"

He groans, quickly losing interest. "Listen, I don't want any part in this," he says, already heading for the exit. "You needn’t worry about me acting uncivil—"

He freezes in his tracks, his body overcome by a sweet, powerful scent carried on the air, one he knows all too well. Spinning on his heel, he sees that she has dug one of her nails deeply into the side of her neck, blood trickling down her finger. His mouth falls open, his mind swimming, already flooding with thoughts of her taste.

"Just what are you trying to pull, Yuuki Cross?!"

"I know it hasn't been easy for you, Aido-senpai." Her expression is bittersweet, a wry smile playing on her lips. "And I never made it any easier. I'm sorry for that."

He feels his fangs extend over his tongue, and he balls his hands into fists and presses them over his eyelids, his vision growing red.

"But don't you see how we can help each other get through this miserable life?" she says.

He steadies himself against a wall, attempting to ground himself as he rounds on her, irises pulsing with traces of violet. His mouth twists into an amused grimace. "Do you realize... just how much like a pureblood you sound when you say things like that?"

His words stun her, render her speechless. She doesn't know what to make of his accusation.

"Don't offer your blood to me unless you're prepared for me to take it, Yuuki Cross."

"I know that."

"I won't be gentle like Kiryu was."

That stings her. "I know that, too."

After surveying her reaction, he laughs harshly to himself. "This is foolish. What do you hope to achieve by exchanging blood? That we'll pretend to be content with each other, that I'll whisper, 'Yuuki-chan, Yuuki-chan' into your ear while trying not to fall in love with you?" he says mockingly, his tone venomous. "I won't subject myself to that."

"Then don't fall in love with me."

He gives her a sidelong glance. "What makes you so sure I won't?"

"That’s easy. It’s because you don't even like me."

She says it like it's the plainest thing in the world, and he can't help but soften, struck with bewilderment at the implication. A response dies on his tongue.

"I know I've always been a burden to you, Aido-senpai; that you've thought of me as a half-baked pureblood stumbling through life. I realize you'd sooner have me turn Kaname human than keep playing this game of leader any longer."

"H-Hey, that's..." he stammers, looking uncharacteristically hurt, and then defensive. "Y-You're so wrong! Is that honestly what you've thought this whole time? You couldn't be more wrong!" He sighs, crossing his arms, heat rising high in his cheeks as he averts his eyes. "A-Anyway... This arrangement you're suggesting... That is, for a pureblood to offer their blood so brazenly to others..."

"Ah, are you really going to reject my blood, Aido-senpai?" she asks, the faintest twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "I seem to remember a time when you were willing to be expelled just to have a taste," she teases him, inspecting her bloodied finger before bringing it to her mouth, licking it clean.

He swallows hard, resisting every urge to lose his cool. "I've already warned you, I won't."

"Then don't," she says seriously, any hint of playfulness vanishing from her face.

He locks eyes with her for several seconds, frowning, waiting to see if her facade will crack. When it doesn't, he tells her, "Not here."

As they both slip out of the hunter society headquarters, neither says another word to the other.

\----------------------------------------------------

His own blood is a small price to pay for the purest, most precious blood that pulses beneath her skin, sought after by all vampires. He can hardly prevent himself from growing excited as they cross over the threshold and enter his home, heart thrashing in his chest.

"Ah, Hanabusa-sama, you've brought a guest," one of his servants greets him at the door, and then their eyes grow wide. "Oh, my, Kuran Yuuki-sama. Welcome. Is there anything you or the lady requires, Master Aido?"

"No, you needn’t fret over our esteemed guest," he says too quickly, before clearing his throat into his hand. "I'll call for you if I need anything. For now, leave us be."

"As you wish, Hanabusa-sama." The servant bows to them, then returns into the house.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to servants," she says beside him, as she shrugs the coat off of her shoulders. He lets out a dry chuckle as he, too, strips out of his outer layers.

"You really are the strangest pureblood in the world, you know that?"

She pouts. "Don't tease me. I just don't like being doted on all the time."

"Yes, well, you won’t need to worry about that here. They should know well enough to give us space," he says as he turns towards her, a serious glint in his eyes. She seems to shrink a bit under his hard gaze. "And they shouldn't bother us in my bedroom, anyway."

"O-Oh..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just..." She fidgets, but tries to hold her ground. "I've never seen your bedroom before, Aido-senpai."

How ironic, he thinks, for her to be bringing that up now.

"Did you think we'd be spilling blood here in the foyer?"

"Well, no, of course not—"

"Then come, follow quickly. It's getting late," he says, seizing her by the wrist and leading her down the hall. She follows quietly, trying to conceal her blush as they pass by several more gawking servants. At the top of a staircase, he unceremoniously throws open two French doors, and beckons her in. He turns on several lights without looking at her, and then swiftly shuts the doors, the curtains affixed to them fluttering and then settling in place, blanketing the view to the hallway.

She hardly has any time to process the large canopy bed, polished armoire, or other elaborate paraphernalia before he approaches her, his eyes hungry as he backs her against the wall.

"A-Aido, you're scaring me..."

"Am I?"

"Th-That face..."

Once she has nowhere left to go, he presses his hands against the wall on either side of her, towering over her.

"You asked me to drink your blood," he says matter-of-factly, frowning. "And now you're trying to get away from me? What bad manners."

"Of course I'm trying to get away from you! You're acting scary!"

He ignores her. He takes her chin in his hand, angling her face away from him, fixed upon her milky neck. Red flashes through his eyes as he dips close to her skin, taking in her scent. He sighs peacefully as he gingerly brushes his fangs against her neck, leaving a faint scratch.

"Have you any idea..." he says under his breath. "...how long I've waited to taste this again?"

Her blush is fierce as she tries not to read too deeply into his words. "I..."

"All the times I've watched Kiryu carelessly let your blood run out..." he sighs, sounding nostalgic. "All the times I've smelt it and had to quell this thirst, because I knew it was yours..."

"Then go ahead and get it over wi—"

"There was even a time I collected it myself!" he laughs, his breath leaving goosebumps over her skin. "And then, I forced other vampires to drink your most precious Kuran blood. And finally, I..."

He sinks his teeth into her, unable to wait any longer. Her breath hitches, and she blushes deeply as he gently draws the blood from her neck. Even as his fangs dig deeper into her throat, he takes his time, letting the blood linger on his tongue as he drinks from her.

"Y-You don't have to baby me, you know..." she stammers out. "I can handle being drunk from."

"Hmmn," he mumbles in response, then swallows. He lifts his fangs from her skin and brushes her hair out of his face. "Will you be quiet? I'm savoring your blood," he breathes against her neck.

"N-Now who's being too honest..."Several images flash through his mind as she says that, and although he isn't trying to pry into her thoughts, he knows they're directly from her. As he laps at the blood at her neck, she remembers his bent, naked form, sees him pulling off her clothes, pushing himself inside of her—

"Er..." He quickly pulls his lips away from her, heat washing over his face. "Y-You... Get ahold of yourself, would you?"

"Y-You're the one who made it weird in the first place!" She trips over her words, flushed from head to toe. "Talking about my blood like it's some expensive dessert."

"Jeez..." he murmurs, still reeling from the images burned in his mindscape. "Thinking about things like that when I'm drinking from you..."

"You're one to talk, senpai!" she shouts, wriggling out of his hold to glare straight at him. "Your mind was wandering all over the place when we—"

"Alright, that's enough," he interrupts, frowning. "I'm not finished, and I want more." He pauses, realizing how petulant he sounds, but hardly cares. "Is that fine?"

His honesty throws her off, and her blush deepens as she looks away. "I-I guess..."

This time, his drinking is more urgent, and he presses his entire body against her as he takes in her blood. It isn't long before several more of her fantasies enter his mind, and he feels himself becoming aroused, the crotch of his pants growing tight. He sighs, this one annoyed rather than pleasant, as he takes her by the shoulders and growls in her ear.

"Are you determined to make this impossible, Yuuki Cross, or do you just desire me that badly?"

"Look, it's not as if I'm trying to make this difficult for you!"

"Hmm," he purrs as he draws back from her, blood smeared on the corners of his lips. "So, it's the latter, then?"

It's her turn to look completely horrified. A smirk stretches across his lips despite himself.

"You really did enjoy it, didn't you?"

"I told you I did!" she retorts, shoving him away.

"I never dreamed the pureblood princess would think of me in that way," he laughs, masking his own embarrassment with cheekiness. "The ones you love won't be happy about this," he says without thinking, and then licks at the blood around his mouth.

"They aren’t at liberty to decide how I spend the rest of my time here."

He peers at her face, curiously taking in her serious expression. He finds himself frowning. "You really have changed."

"It’s what happens when you don't have a reason to fight anymore," she says, unfeelingly. She presses her palms against his chest and firmly pushes him backwards, and he allows her to guide him until the backs of his knees hit the bedside. He stays anchored to that spot, his eyes challenging hers, relaying her expression back at her as he calculates his next words carefully.

"Are you trying to get me into bed, Yuuki-sama?"

"Yes," she says firmly, hands trembling over his chest.

"I find it hard to believe you're serious about this," he says quietly, a pang of sadness ringing through him. It begins to dawn on him how she's truly feeling, and he can't help but pity her.

"And why wouldn't I be?" she retorts scathingly, tears springing up in her eyes.

"It's as if... you've finally learned to take what you want," he muses aloud as he pieces it together, eyebrows furrowed. "This is your way of grieving."

She doesn't answer him. She glowers fiercely at him, seeming to try to hate him with all of her might. But he knows she could never achieve such a thing.

"Is this honestly what you want, Yuuki-chan?" he asks her sincerely, hands moving to grasp her by the shoulders.

"It is." Her voice is serious, but her whole body shakes with a throng of emotions. "I swear it is."

"Come on, quit trembling." He wraps his arms around her, pulling her under his chin. "At least act like you mean it when you say you want to use me for something like this."

Her arms go stiff at her sides. "I thought... Both of us—we were using one another," she makes out, face buried in his clavicle as her body becomes wracked with shudders.

"No," he assures her, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "I won't take advantage of you like I did then."

They stand like that for several minutes until she's settled down. He’s willing to wait, patiently, only able to guess just how difficult the conversation must be for her. When she finally pulls away from him, her eyes are filled with a forced conviction as she steadies herself on her legs. Peering into his face, she tells him, "Even if you don't believe me, I meant what I said.”

“Ah… That much, I knew."

"...Eh?!"

He sighs. "Truthfully, I was hoping you'd change your mind," he says, running a hand through his hair, looking troubled. "It would be... easier, if you came to your senses and gave up this farce."

"Maybe," she concedes, fiddling with a button on his waistcoat as she thinks to herself. "Tell me, senpai, am I going to lose your companionship over this?"

"Idiot pureblood. Don't you know by now?" he says, his expression somber as he looks into her eyes. "Kaname-sama told me to keep watch over you. I'm not going to leave your side."

She stretches a hand toward him, touching her fingertips to his mouth, and it nearly makes him flinch. Her warm, wine-colored eyes communicate a silent invitation, and as she traces the fissure between his lips, he finds himself inching his face closer and closer until he can hear her quiet breaths. Her lithe fingers travel downward, under his chin, following the length of his trachea. The distance dissolves. He claims her lips.

They begin to shed their clothes, layer by layer, hands snaking over each others' bodies. Their mouths meet again and again, their lips sliding, suckling, smacking, only parting as necessary to loosen and wrestle out of their garments. As they fall into bed together, she rolls on top of him, sitting on his lap as her hands trace the smooth valleys of his midsection. She takes in his body with eager, curious eyes, and his face goes searing hot.

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't stare so much, it's embarrassing!"

"We hardly looked at each other last time," she says, eyes traveling ever downward, and he pales. He swiftly grabs her arms, pulling her down against him, and she utters a high note of complaint.

"You're going to be the death of me, stupid pureblood," he says into her hair, flabbergasted.

"I think I have a right to know what that part of you looks like—"

He groans loudly over her words, feeling like he could die from humiliation on the spot. "Do you relish in making me suffer, or does it just come naturally to you?!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Aido-senpai," she pouts into his chest, struggling to get out of his grip, but he doesn't relent. He holds her tightly to him as he rolls onto his side, and then releases her.

"This is more fair," he decides, eyes narrowed as he rests his arms upon her naked waist. A blush crawls across his face, and he looks everywhere but at her breasts. Meanwhile, she unabashedly gazes at the space between them, fixed on where she was sitting moments ago. She moves her hand between his legs, lightly touching him there, and he lets out an instinctive whimper.

"A-Ah..." he exhales sharply as her hand squeezes around his dick, and then he snatches her wrist. "Okay, th-that's... that's enough," he says nervously, pulling her hand up to his chest. "I-I'm... I'm going to look at you now," he says stiffly, giving her—and perhaps more importantly, himself—ample time to prepare for this ceremonious moment. She smiles sheepishly when his eyes travel downward and then fix unmistakably on her breasts.

"They're... cute," he concludes after a moment, bringing his hand up to cup one and squeeze it gently. "Provided, they may not be robust—"

"Aido-senpai, I can't believe you!" she scolds, whacking him upside the head angrily, dizzying him. "You're terrible!"

"R-Right... Sorry. Look, I'm not... great, at this. I’m out of practice."

"Hmph," she pouts, and then pushes herself to the head of the bed. The next moment, she’s retreating under his covers, pulling them tightly around her as she goes out of sight.

"I'm not just saying that, you know," he says uneasily, making no effort to stop her. "It's... been quite a long time. I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes."

Silence. He suddenly becomes very aware of how vulnerable he feels. "Uh... H-Hey, come on..." He tugs a bit at the covers, and she shakes her head emphatically, flipping over and facing away from him. All the blood drains from his face, and he glares pointedly at her.

" _Hey!!_ This is _my_ bed, you know!" he yells, trying to tear the blankets from her grip, but she doesn't budge. It isn’t long before he realizes the futility of his efforts, and the last thing he wants in this moment is a tug of war in the nude. He sighs deeply, accepting his defeat, and then collapses beside her, eyes cast toward his canopy.

"How typical," he grumbles. "For you to be unaware I see you as nothing but beautiful."

At that, she rustles slightly, and peeks over the covers at him. He shoots a glance at her from the corner of his eye and frowns.

"Well? I know you're listening.”

She is motionless for a moment, and then she slowly turns herself toward him, creating an opening for him in the blankets. Surprised at her stirring, he investigates, breathing a “Hm?” and peering into the shadowed space. When her silent expression tells him she’s approving his entrance, he spares no time in wiggling under the bedspread, looking pleased with himself. He finds her quickly in the sheets, pressing his lips triumphantly against hers.

"I thought maybe you had changed your mind about this absurd idea," he sneers.

"No,” she murmurs. “You just needed to be punished.”

"Is that so?" he says wickedly, pushing a knee between her legs and then deftly flipping on top of her. "You take up valuable space in my bed, and _I'm_ the one in need of punishment?"

"That's another thing," she says, with a hint of criticism in her tone. "Your bed is way too big."

"You're getting far too cozy with the idea that you can say anything you want to me, Yuuki Cross," he tells her, his mouth twisted in mild amusement, eyes harsh as he gazes at her. "Or have you already forgotten how scary I can be?" He flashes his fangs at her, dipping his grinning mouth close to her breast. When he runs the tip of one of his fangs over her nipple, she lets out a sharp yelp.

"A-Aido! Th-That's... too sensitive, _stop!_ "

"Oh, alright," he says, smirking as he lifts his face to look at her. "What would you like, then? You choose, I'm feeling generous—"

Suddenly, she pushes him over with surprising strength and mounts him. His eyes widen as she towers over him, long locks of her hair dancing over his chest.

"I think..." she considers aloud, regarding him smugly. "...I'd like you to feel powerless."

"...Powerless?" he parrots, dumbstruck under her gaze.

"Mhm," she purrs, and then grinds her sex against him, fanning her fingers over his. A moan slips past his lips, his eyes clenching shut. He hardens against her friction, nearly coming undone as he takes in how warm and wet she feels, their loins crushing together in a rough, sloppy kiss. He tries to resist looking utterly intoxicated beneath her gaze, but fails spectacularly.

Much too soon, she's lifting her hips from him, and his dick springs up, swaying and then brushing against her inner thigh. He lets out a little shudder as she pulls away, inwardly cursing the miles that stretch between their hips, and attempts to hide his disappointment. She advances on his throat, fangs nicking at the sensitive flesh below his ear. Droplets of blood burst at the surface and coat her tongue as she swirls it over the spot. His thoughts swim with pinning her down and taking her then and there.

When her sex comes to hover over his once more, he instinctively pivots his pelvis against her, his every nerve pleading for more, more, _more_ of her when she encases her inner lips over the flushed tip of his dick. He throws his head back into the pillow, letting out a frustrated groan. His captured hands push back against her, but she resists his strength, and for a moment, he’s convinced his brain might burst in his skull.

Slowly ( _too_ _slowly,_ chants his mind), she takes the length of him inside of her, and his body squirms beneath her, hips earnestly bucking to meet her shallow thrusts. His breath catches in his throat as he scrambles to fill her with every inch she'll take of him, and after what feels like an eternity, her tight grip on his hands falters, freeing him at last. Her fingers drift past his ears, lace through tousled blonde hair, nails running lines over the curve of his scalp. His hands seize the widest point of her hips, quickening their pace as his strokes plunge him harder, deeper, and the tip of his tongue darts into the gap she leaves between her lips. He already feels heat building in his stomach, threatening to drive him over the edge when, voice pitched high, she breathes, "Ahhn, Hana… Hanabusa, mmng—"

"Uhn—W-Wha...?" tumbles out of his mouth, and he's momentarily stunned before the climax erupts from deep in his gut, rattling him. He chokes out a noisy, unrestrained moan as he releases into her, and she clamps her mouth over his, muting the sound. Her walls spasm and squeeze tighter around his girth, and she bleats, weakly, fisting her hands in his hair. Stars twinkle in their vision as they draw out their fleeting ecstasy, lungs gulping shallow breaths as gratification gently washes over them. The frantic, unsynchronized drumming of their hearts echoes like a cacophony in their ears, each beat racing and competing even as her muscles relax and slide against him, her face digging into the hollow of his shoulder. Soon, their bodies become still, save for their panting chests, and his arms fall limply against the sheets.

"Haa," he's the first to utter, his shaking hands smoothing the brown tresses splayed out over his chest and neck, like a reef trying in vain not to be swallowed by the rising tide. "Ha..."

She coos some pleasant sound in response, and they lie like that for several minutes until he slips out of her, which elicits an awkward tremble out of them both. Then, she rolls off of him, hair spilling over her face as she lies peacefully on her side, and he only hopes he achieves some semblance of an impartial expression as he takes in the sight of her. She puckers her swollen lips and blows several strands of hair out of her face, yet pays them no mind when they float back down to rest over her cheeks. The girl is a mess, he thinks to himself, but even he can't deny that the blissful, foolhardy high that's bursting in his chest is all her doing. Something like life rekindles in her eyes as she gradually returns to her senses.

"Hmm..." she hums, stretching her limbs out under the sheets, and then she fixes her large, wine-colored eyes on him.

His heart lurches, leaps up into his throat, and he promptly swallows it back down. Dozens of words occur to him. He settles on the least incriminating of these.

"You called me by my first name," he blurts out, somewhat strangled. He means to muster a frown as he recalls it but isn’t sure if it comes.

"O-Oh, yeah," she says, sheepishly. "I'm not sure where that came from. Was it... weird?"

"It's just," he says, clearly distracted by a multitude of thoughts, almost none of which he has any intention of verbalizing to the pureblood before him. "We should try not to act so... familiar with one another."

She laughs a fluttery little laugh. "After all that, you draw the line at first names."

“Hmph,” he huffs, a deep blush crawling hot over his cheeks. "I'm just saying... We shouldn't be creating false intimacy where there is none. It would be... troublesome, to pretend we're closer than we are."

"Okay, I suppose I see your point," she says, yawning as she curls up next to him, stopping just short of allowing their bodies to touch. "So... no new nicknames between us."

"That seems best," he says thoughtfully, studying her as she settles into the mattress. "Should you be getting so comfortable? It's going to be daylight soon, you know."

She lets out a groan, pulling the blankets up over her head. "Can't I take a short nap? Today was so long, and then I had to give that address at the association headquarters..." she complains, voice muffled, and his face contorts in indignation.

"Wha... Now you want to sleep in my bed?!" He heaves a disgruntled sigh, frowning deeply. "You really are trouble for me. What am I going to do about this?"

"Thanks, Aido-senpai..." she murmurs, turning her back to him, pulling the blankets with her. He sulks for a long, drawn-out moment before dragging himself to the edge of the bed and then going to his dresser. He selects a fresh pair of pajamas and slips into them quietly. Finally, his gaze settles upon the girl in his bed.

"I wonder what the servants are going to start saying," he mutters to himself, running a hand through his hair. "Nothing good will come of this if they start asking questions."

He snuffs out the lights and then returns to his bedside, lifting the blankets and lying down next to her. Her breath falls evenly, and she appears to have already fallen asleep. He watches her for just a moment, expressionless, and then faces away from her, keeping a good distance between them.

Softly clutching to his pillow, he subdues his aching, empty arms, and allows himself to fall into slumber.

\----------------------------------------------------

When he awakens naturally, he's surprised to see her sleeping soundly several feet away, and warmth immediately swells in his chest. She hasn't woken up yet. He glances through the darkness at the clock on the adjacent wall. Three o'clock. They've been sleeping like this for quite some time.

When he notices that her white shoulders are poking out from beneath the blankets, blood rushes to his face, and he suddenly remembers that she isn't wearing anything. He should probably call down for some clothes, he realizes, or perhaps he should have had hers cleaned...? No, he decides, he'd prefer not to get the servants into too much of a tizzy…

What a hopelessly awkward situation they've gotten themselves into. He furrows his brows and buries himself deeper into the bed, silently considering if he can lie here until the end of time.

She mumbles something unintelligible, and then goes quiet again. His lips curl into a smile, and when he catches himself looking over at her fondly, the smile slowly falls from his face. Before he can stop himself, he reaches out and brushes his knuckles over her shoulder, his heart feeling impossibly heavy. She stirs, and he swiftly draws back as she shifts on her side to focus her half-lidded eyes on him. He pushes the feelings out of his head. She's awake now.

On with the show.

"Aido-senpai...?" she mumbles groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"That's right," he says.

"What time is it? How long have I been sleeping?"

"You slept through the night. It's past three, now."

She frowns. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stay so long," she says, and then appears to realize something, letting out a groan. "Ugh, now all of your maids are going to know I stayed over..."

He chuckles faintly. "Yes, they are."

"I hate servants." She pauses, pursing her lips. "Maybe I can leave through the window."

"There aren't any windows in here," he says, dryly, as if it's already crossed his mind.

"...Oh." She looks utterly disappointed, and then she draws the blankets around herself as she sits up, pulling them from him. Her eyes snap to his buttoned-down top. "When did you get dressed?"

He hefts himself up, propping an elbow against his pillow, resting his cheek against his knuckles. "After you fell asleep, obviously."

"What else did you do while I was sleeping?" she asks suspiciously, eyeing him.

"Wha..." he says, looking flustered, and then offended. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

She frowns. "You didn't do anything perverted, did you? An innocent girl, lying naked in your bed... I don't know what you're capable of, senpai."

"Are you seriously asking me that question?!" he shouts, exposing his fangs in his frenzy.

"Close your eyes," she tells him firmly, holding tightly to the bedspread.

"What for?"

"I'm going to get dressed."

A laugh rises in his throat, but dies prematurely when she gives him a fierce look.

"...You're being serious."

"Close your eyes, senpai!"

"Alright, fine!" he yells, and then garishly throws his head back against the pillows, arm snatching up one of them and pressing it over his face. "Is this better, Lady Kuran? Dearest pureblood princess, Kuran Yuuki-sama?" he mutters, bitterly, into his pillow.

"I thought we weren't coming up with any new nicknames," she chides, as she drags the blankets off of the bed. He can hear them sliding across the floor as she gathers up her clothes.

"Are you under the impression I've never called you any of those names before now?"

"Very funny, senpai."

He hears the blankets fall around her feet as she begins to pull on her clothes. Suddenly, he remembers how she looked when she was on top of him, and feels his face go hot. He instinctively squeezes the pillow, grateful for its cover.

"Hm? You went quiet. Don't tell me you fell back asleep," she teases him.

"Of course I didn't!" he shoots back defensively, louder than he intends.

"What sorts of things are you thinking about, Aido-senpai?" she says cheekily, then laughs. "You can open your eyes now."

He grumbles as he pulls the pillow from his face, and then crosses his legs as he sits up and smoothes out his bedhead. She's dressed in the clothes he peeled off of her yesterday, which he tries not to think about too much.

"Senpai, what's wrong?" she asks him when he doesn't look at her directly.

"It's nothing," he responds, trying to keep a level tone as his eyes slide shut, brows tense. "This is... taking some time to get used to."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

He sighs, giving her a weary glance. "I never stopped having second thoughts."

She comes to his side, her eyes bright as they peer into his. "Will some blood cheer you up?"

He blanches, turning his face away from her, eyebrow twitching slightly. "Y-You really need to stop offering up your blood so eagerly..."

"Well, to be honest, I'd like to repay you."

"What was that? You want to... _repay_ me?" He makes a convoluted expression at the suggestion. When she realizes how he’s interpreted her words, she seems to double back.

"N... Not for that!! Just what kind of girl do you think I am?" she huffs, puffing out her cheeks. "I mean, I'm trying to tell you I'm grateful for you! For not... looking at me differently, like everyone else."

He looks puzzled. "What are you going on about? Just come out and say it."

"All the other vampires, the hunters at the association, everyone—they all look at me with such pity in their eyes. It's as if... they're waiting for me to crumble into nothing. I can tell they're thinking, 'What's stopping that girl from awakening her brother? What good is she to us like this?'"

Her words shake him darkly at first, but he isn't sure why. He's well aware that there have been murmurings amongst their kind about the state she's in, but he never knew it had been so obvious to her. His lips form a thin line as he regards her coolly, already forming a careful, thoughtful response.

"It’s a... relief," he decides, speaking slowly. "That you know I don't think that of you."

“Of course, I always had to wonder, but… It’s in your eyes, senpai.”

He reflexively looks away, feeling a bit nervous under her scrutiny. Damn the girl, he hadn’t given her permission to read into his eyes.

“You’ve always hidden your feelings behind your eyes," she goes on, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort. "But lately, they’ve been more honest."

He thinks his body temperature must rise five full degrees, and his fingers dig into the bed. _What did she expect_ , he can’t help but wonder— _for him to keep a stone cold face all while doing the things they’ve done?!_ Before he realizes it, his knuckles have gone white.

“Er… Aido-senpai?”

She knocks him out of his thoughts, eyes mildly amused as she watches him. He clears his throat, fending off his embarrassment, and then swiftly throws his legs over the side of the bed, signaling a decisive end to this line of conversation.

“If you’d like, I can escort you down to the entrance,” he tells her, rising to his feet.

“That’s okay.” A pink hue rises to her cheeks. “I don’t want to see the look on anyone's face if we get spotted leaving your room together...”

“Ah.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”

He follows her to the door, and she hesitates as her hand reaches for one of the doorknobs.

“I’m sorry that I’m being a burden on you, Aido-senpai,” she says, quietly.

“Wha—? Don’t say things like that just before you leave my room!” he says, blushing just a bit. “Or are you looking for me to feel sorry for you so that you can be held and spoiled by me?”

She laughs a little as she turns to him. “Oh, is that what’s on your mind? If you wanted a hug, you could’ve just said so.”

Before he can protest, she wraps her arms around his middle, giving him a light squeeze. He’s taken aback for a moment, but then rests his head on hers, feeling conflicted.

“Bye, senpai.”

“Goodbye, Yuuki-sama.”

She unravels herself from him, and his heart clenches uncomfortably in his chest as she goes. Once the door softly clatters behind her, he immediately goes into motion, stooping to gather the mess of blankets from the floor and then tossing them onto the bed. He preens at his appearance in a full-length mirror, pulling his fingers through his hair, inspecting his teeth. He pulls himself together. 

He pushes the feelings out of his head.


	3. a perfectly ordinary soirée

Life returns to normal for a while, aside from the dreams that rouse him from sleep in a cold sweat and too-tight pajama bottoms, leaving him with electric sensations over his skin and almost no memory of what he dreamed. Occasionally he awakens with a distinct feeling of moisture in his briefs, which is especially embarrassing. He can’t remember the last time he had wet dreams. Had he ever personally experienced them at all, or had it just been a concept he had learned about when he was young? These are the thoughts that nip at him as he changes his underwear, only to return to bed for several more hours.

He’s seen her in passing several times since that night she spent with him, and he’s played his part well, a picture of aloofness and formalities, perhaps even more so than usual. She looks tired, but she never fails to plaster a fake, amicable smile on her face when she addresses him. He can tell she’s working harder now than ever to prove that she’s okay, and it gives him a sick, twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach.

One day, she stops by his lab on business, flitting in with a forced, boundless energy that doesn’t quite match the expression behind her eyes.

“These are the reports you asked for,” he says, handing her a thick stack of papers, scrawled in his own handwriting. _Why aren’t you relying on me?_ he doesn’t ask.

“This is perfect. Thank you,” she chirps, snatching them from him and at once turning on her heel to leave.

 _You’re not fooling anyone, the least of all me_ , he can’t seem to bring himself to say as she walks out on him, long hair trailing messily behind her, no doubt rushing to complete another errand that the hunter society has pinned on her.

“Hmph, it’s repulsive, how they take advantage of her kind nature,” he says to the empty air as he goes back to his desk, plopping himself down in front of his papers and letting his eyes fall closed. “To treat a pureblood with such disrespect is unforgivable.”

But he doesn’t allow himself to ruminate on it any further before diving back into his research, pen in hand gliding effortlessly over the page as he puts raw statistics to words.

Several days later, he receives an invitation to a soirée, held by the Souen family. His own daughter—upon receiving an invitation herself—urges him to go, fussing over his tendency to overwork as usual. It’s not as if he no longer enjoys soirées, and it has been some time since he’s attended one, so he decides to graciously accept the invitation.

When he really stops to think about it, it’s the first event he’s looked forward to in quite some time.

\----------------------------------------------------

On the night of the celebration, he arrives at the main Souen manor dressed in a full tailored suit, stopping first to give his regards to the hosts—Ruka’s parents—before scanning the room for his daughter and her husband. He quickly finds them in the crowd, his daughter’s dusty auburn bob and bright blue eyes giving her away.

“Father!” she says excitedly, throwing her arms around his shoulders when he approaches them. “Father, you came!”

“It’s good to see you, Eiko,” he says warmly, holding her tightly for a moment before pulling away to look into her face. “You look lovelier every time I see you.”

“And you look younger every time I see _you!_ ” she exclaims, cupping a hand to his cheek and laughing lightly. “Oh my, I think I might have more lines in my face than you do!”

“Good evening, Lord Aido,” her husband cuts in, stepping forward and then shifting into a bow. Aido inclines his head to him, lips carved into a smile.

“Good evening. I wonder, are your children well?”

“You should know well enough how your grandchildren are!” Eiko pipes up, giving her father a firm poke in the chest. “I sent you a letter not long ago—did you already forget that you’re about to be a great-grandfather? Or have you been forwarding my mail to some other address?”

He chuckles, but the amusement doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course I’ve read your letter. I’ll have to make some time to visit her before your child is born.”

“You could’ve fooled me. I hardly get a response from you these days, with you all cooped up in the lab and that dreary office.”

“I apologize for that,” he says, and he means it. “I’m publishing so much research these days, it’s difficult not to sound impersonal when I write for pleasure. You don’t want to get the wrong idea from my tone, do you?”

“So, you’d rather I make assumptions about what’s keeping you so busy you can’t correspond with your only daughter?” she retorts, only half in jest, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

He throws his hands in the air, raising his nose high as he turns his back to her. “Well then, allow me to take my leave, so that I may _urgently_ reply to your missive—” he says garishly, taking an exaggerated step away from her. She catches his arm, laughing out loud.

“Alright, alright! Must you cause a scene?! I’m embarrassed to be seen with you!”

Her husband watches their exchange with some stiffness, and he smiles in discomfort, sweat beading on his forehead. “Eiko, didn’t you say you wanted to visit with Yuuki-sama before too many guests arrived?” he interrupts, and Eiko’s expression immediately brightens.

“Oh—! Yes, that’s right. Father, do you know if Yuuki is here already?” His daughter looks expectantly at him, and his lips downturn slightly at the mention of the pureblood.

“I’m not sure. If she makes an appearance, it shouldn’t be long from now.” He shrugs.

“Some help you are,” she says, but her eyes are kind. “Have you at least talked to her, since…?”

He unconsciously shifts his weight, focuses just past her eyes. “Of course.”

“So, how is she doing? Things must be so difficult for her right now, I’d like to—”

“Ah, there she is, Eiko,” her husband interjects, lifting a finger to point toward the other side of the ballroom, and the two follow his gaze. Surrounded by guests, the girl looks strikingly ethereal in a dark, billowing gown, her hair done in a thick fishtail braid over her shoulder. All at once, Aido feels the breath knocked out of his chest.

“Huh,” Aido murmurs before he can stop himself.

“Oh, thank you, dear! Father, I’m sorry, is it alright if we pick this up a bit later—?”

“Go on,” he tells them, giving a dismissive wave of his hand. His daughter stands on her toes and gives him a peck on the cheek before gliding off across the marble floor, husband in tow. As she goes, Aido shifts his attention back to the pureblood, carefully maintaining a straight face as he takes in her dolled up appearance.

Has he always been so attracted to her? The answer, he knows, is a resounding no—so why does he feel so damn nervous right now?

From across the room, she catches his stare. His face goes hot when their eyes lock, and he quickly turns his head away before she has the opportunity to react. He knits his brows together, closing his eyes as he gives himself one, two, three seconds to feel utterly humiliated—and then walks it off.

He makes small talk with several other aristocrats before running into his cousin, the sight of whom causes a grin to spread across his face.

“Akatsuki!” he exclaims, waving him down.

“Hanabusa.” Akatsuki’s smile is serene as his eyes fall upon his blonde cousin, and his hand rises only to rest on the back of his own neck. “It’s been a while, huh? We haven’t seen you much at these things lately.”

“Yes, yes, that’s what I’ve been hearing... “ he says, smirking. “I wasn’t aware people had missed me so much.”

“We can’t help but think you’ve gotten yourself into some kind of trouble. Even Ruka’s been asking about you.”

“Wha—? Come on, don’t joke.”

Akatsuki laughs, the sound both gruff and disarming in a manner only he can accomplish. It puts Aido at ease.

“I’m being honest. I think she’s forgotten how rowdy you can be, Hanabusa.”

“Where is Ruka?” Aido thinks to ask, looking all around, frowning. “I haven’t seen her at all.”

“She’s resting upstairs. She’s in her third term, so she’s only seeing some guests.” He exhales wearily. “I don’t know what her parents were thinking, hosting a soirée so close to the birth.”

“Has it really been so long since we last saw each other? I didn’t realize you were having another child.”

“I guess it has,” he chuckles, and Aido narrows his eyes, looking sad at those words. His cousin picks up on his dejection, not missing a beat as he easily responds in turn. “Don’t beat yourself up. We all know you’ve been preoccupied with your work.”

“Yes, well…” he trails off, frown deepening. “Perhaps I should start making more of an effort to stay in touch.”

Akatsuki claps a hand on his shoulder, giving him a warm smile. Aido soaks in that smile, his worries falling away for just a moment, when Akatsuki breaks their comfortable silence.

“Did you bring a date tonight, Hanabusa?”

“H... Huh?!” His face contorts in alarm, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “How rude, Akatsuki! What are you asking me a question like that for?!”

“Uh… Sorry, was I wrong? I thought I saw you with someone unfamiliar a while ago.”

“Unfamiliar?” he considers, thinking to himself. “Are you thinking of my daughter? I thought you knew what she looked like.”

“Was that Eiko? Damn, she’s aging fast.” Akatsuki runs a hand through his ginger hair, a troubled look flashing across his face.

“Don’t remind me,” Aido mumbles, sighing. “She mentioned earlier that I look younger than her. I don’t know what brings her to point out things like that.” Hurt flickers through his eyes momentarily, but he tries to change the subject. “Anyway, I guess I’m going to be a great-grandfather soon.”

“No kidding?” Akatsuki says, clapping him on the back. “Congratulations, Hanabusa.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he responds a bit uneasily. He hasn’t yet decided how the news makes him feel.

“Well, I’ve got to go around and greet a few more guests before I settle in,” Akatsuki tells him, neglecting to mask his social fatigue. “If you get the chance, go and say hello to Ruka. She’s in the west wing.”

He gives a stiff nod. “Alright, I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Be seeing you,” he says, giving Aido’s shoulder a light squeeze before walking briskly away. He watches his cousin as he goes, and then goes back to mingling for a while.

Just as Aido approaches a table topped with delicacies, he notices a crowd forming out of the corner of his eye, and discomfort swells within him. He straightens up on his toes, making himself taller in an attempt to glance over the many heads. Sure enough, the pureblood princess is right in the middle, looking apologetic as she is bombarded with questions and sympathies. A scowl forms on his lips as he makes his way over and cuts curtly through the crowd.

“Thank you very much for your concern—No, I mean, things at the association have been going just smoothly—”

He brushes roughly past several older aristocrats, finally breaking through to the center and standing protectively in front of the floundering girl. The din in his ears grows louder, more hostile.

“Hey, what do you think you’re—”

“Yuuki-sama isn’t interested in receiving any more condolences at the moment,” he tells them unapologetically, shielding her behind him with one of his arms. “Give her some air.”

“I beg your pardon, Lord Aido, but your words carry little weight in this conversation.”

“No, he’s right,” the pureblood says suddenly, pulling his arm down as she moves closer to the crowd. Her eyes go serious. “I appreciate your sympathies, but please give me some time to clear my head. I’ll be happy to hear any more of your concerns in an hour or so.”

They all seem to accept this answer, murmuring affirmatively amongst themselves. Thankfully, the crowd begins to thin, bustling every which way about the ballroom. Beside him, she draws out a long breath.

“Thank you, Aido-senpai…” She holds her arms across her chest, expression weary. “I hadn’t realized how exhausted that was making me until you stepped in.”

“Foolish woman,” he admonishes, irritated, as he turns to look her in the eyes. “You’re never thinking of your limits. Just when will you learn to be forthright with them? They’ll listen to you!”

“You have a funny way of showing you care, senpai.” She laughs softly, dryly. “Or should I send you away, too?”

“Is that what you want?” he asks her seriously.

“Of course not,” she says quickly, eyes growing wide with panic. “Please, stay with me for a little while, or else I might get ambushed again!” She reflexively grabs his arm, pulling it over her head, appearing to try to shrink away from the party.

“Alright, alright,” he concedes, looking a bit flustered as he draws his arm back from her. “I’ll look after you, just for a bit. But we should go somewhere else, or we could make the situation worse…” he says with some nervousness, sweating under the gaze of the many envious eyes upon him.

“Yeah,” she agrees, nodding stiffly. “Is the balcony open?”

“It should be,” he guesses.

As they go out on the terrace, only several pairs of eyes acknowledge their presence; fortunately for them, their owners quickly lose interest or politely shift their gazes away, returning to their quiet conversations. The two of them walk to the edge of the balcony and lean their weight against the handrail, staring out at the garden below. Almost immediately, the pureblood’s entire body relaxes, her eyes sliding closed.

“Maybe I wasn’t ready to come to this one,” she says under her breath.

“Maybe not, but you did,” he replies, focused away from her. “And you were holding up just fine before I showed up. It’s your lack of confidence that makes you freeze up.”

“Those vampires would have torn me apart and you know it,” she grumbles.

He chuckles humorlessly. “With that attitude, perhaps.”

He allows himself glance at her briefly, and he’s once more struck by her beauty tonight, air seizing in his throat. It’s difficult for him to look straight at her as his hands clench at his sides.

“Eiko’s still so beautiful, isn’t she?” she says suddenly, a small smile ghosting her lips, and he’s grateful for the subject change.

“Did she fawn over you?” he asks, tone affectionate as he remembers their exchange. “She was so preoccupied with making sure you were well, she hardly spoke to me.”

“She’s very sweet,” she laughs. “But she was no match for the nobles that started lining up behind her. We didn’t get to catch up much.”

“What about Ai-chan, is she here tonight?”

“I don’t think she’s coming,” she responds wistfully. “Ai hasn’t attended a soirée in years. She doesn’t like the attention.”

“I suppose she wouldn’t.” He frowns, vaguely remembering the many suitors who offered themselves up to the girl during the last few instances he’s seen her.

“What about you, Aido-senpai?” she asks, finally settling her eyes upon him. “It’s been a long time since you came to a soirée, right? Have you done any dancing?”

He meets her gaze, heartbeat falling just out of rhythm as he takes in her bright, speckless face. It takes a great deal of effort for him to stare into her eyes and not at her cherry lips, but if his deliberation is obvious to her, he doesn’t know.

“Ah, no… Not yet,” he murmurs, glancing away.

“Excuse me, Kuran Yuuki-sama?”

Taken off guard, they both turn toward an unfamiliar voice. Before they’d noticed, a dark-haired vampire had moved closely towards them, a thin smile carved on his mouth.

“Yes?” she replies, straightening up her spine. Aido regards the intruder coolly.

“If you would be so kind as to grant me one dance...” he says, holding out his hand as he bows deeply to her.

“...Eh?!” She recoils, her mouth falling open. “Are you really asking me for a dance?”

“Please, I mean no disrespect. I simply thought a pureblood as radiant as yourself should be invited to enjoy herself on this festive night,” he says, his eyes kind. Before the words truly register with him, Aido’s eyebrows have already grown tense.

He finds himself interjecting, “With all due respect, sir, do you have any idea who it is you’re talking t—”

“I accept,” she interrupts, hand falling into the man’s palm.

“Wha…?!” Aido stops short, baffled. “Are you certain? Hey, you can say no, Yuuki-sama.”

“You’ve done me a great honor,” the vampire says, leading her away from him at once, across the terrace. Yuuki shoots Aido an apologetic smile over her shoulder as she is led back into the ballroom. Bewildered, he can do nothing but watch, and then he heaves a sigh.

“Jeez…” he mutters under his breath. She’s the one who asked him to stay with her in the first place, he thinks bitterly to himself, and he soon follows after her. The air in the ballroom is heavy as it hits him in the face, and he hears bits of murmurings as he makes his way past a few nobles at the entrance of the balcony.

“Is Yuuki-sama accepting dances now?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“How bold! I hope I get the chance to dance with her before night’s end.”

He grows annoyed as he scans the room for her, tight-lipped as he weaves discreetly past several intertwined couples. Finally, his eyes come to rest on the pureblood princess, in the arms of the young vampire nobody, her feet falling carefully into step alongside his as he directs her into a waltz.

A flurry of emotions stir within him, none of them pleasant as he stays rooted to the spot. A dim chorus of “Yuuki-sama” echoes around him in the conversations of those looking on, and he gets lost in the way the gown slides over her hips as she moves, the glistening of her shoulders, the little flyaways in her enormous braid. Spellbound, he can’t wrench his gaze away from her, even as her dance partner presses a kiss against the top of her wrist and hands her off to the next man in line.

Suddenly, his throat feels impossibly parched, and before he tells himself to move, his legs are already propelling him toward the fountain of blood cocktail. He fills a glass with the crimson liquid, swirling it around in his cup before splashing it down his throat. He swallows thickly and hardly tastes it at all. Instinctively, his eyes snap back toward her, as her new dance partner pulls her into a low dip and then up again, arm curled under her waist as she regains her balance.

“Ah, Lord Aido,” he hears from some direction, the sound distant in his ears.

“My apologies. I’m rather busy now,” he replies, hardly listening at all. His eyes remain transfixed on the pureblood as he turns away from the source of the voice. “I’m about to visit with a distant relative, so if you’ll excuse me,” he goes on, tone noncommittal as he walks away. He doesn’t bother to figure out who he’s inexplicably deserted as his feet carry him out of the ballroom and up the large staircase leading to the west wing of the manor.

\----------------------------------------------------

At the end of a long, winding hallway, a low-level vampire waits for him, standing at attention. A Souen guard, he figures. She observes him carefully as he approaches, expressionless.

“May I help you find something?” she asks him.

“I was told Ruka was resting here,” he says, and then thinks to add, “Her husband, Akatsuki, sent me up.”

“Ah, of course.” Her smile is a tight line. “Aido Hanabusa-sama, is it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Please wait here a moment,” she tells him, and then disappears into the room behind her. He catches a glimpse of Ruka seated at the head of a bed, eyes closed as she leans against many throw pillows, before his view is once more obscured by the door swinging shut. Soon after, the doorknob turns again, and the guard invites him in.

“It’s you!” Ruka exclaims, wide-eyed as she stares at him, and he notices her skin is positively glowing. He seats himself in the armchair adjacent to her, folding his arms in his lap as he smiles lightly.

As she takes in his face, he tells her, “I can tell you’ve been getting lots of blood.”

She laughs, although he can sense his comment is a bit too brash for her liking.

“Well, yes, what were you expecting? I’m feeding for at least two.”

“Wha… Are you having twins?! Akatsuki didn’t tell me that!” he exclaims, jumping back in his seat as his gaze shoots to her pregnant belly.

“It’s difficult to know for sure, but I think it’s a possibility. Of course, it’s likely that one will end up devouring the other, so I’d rather not get my hopes up,” she says, her voice strangely calm.

“Vampire twins are just as uncommon as hunter twins, aren’t they?” he says thoughtfully.

“Yes, that’s how the old myth goes,” she replies, as she glides a hand along her stomach. Then, she returns her full attention to him, meeting his eyes. “Regardless of any of that, I’m glad you stopped by, Hanabusa. How is your research coming along?”

“Slowly,” he decides, the corners of his lips downturning. “If I’m being honest, it will probably be several more centuries before such a complicated transformation will be accomplished on the cellular level, let alone be available in the form of something that could be administered… at least without pureblood intervention.”

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” she says sincerely, looking at him in earnest. “I want to do everything I can for Kaname-sama, too.”

“I know you do,” he says, wearing a somewhat distant smile. The look in her eyes is all too familiar to him, as it mirrors one he’s carried countless times over these past few centuries. “If something comes up and I think you could be of use, I’ll be sure to contact you.”

“Thank you. It’s reassuring to hear you say so,” she says, and the passion in her eyes abates slightly. But not a moment later, her voice is raised, carrying on it the lecturing tone he’s come to expect from her. “I’m not just a housewife, you know! You’d be wise to remember that. I’d rather you not work yourself to death, Hanabusa; there are plenty of us who are willing to share in the burden. We just don’t know where to start.”

“I realize that,” he says stiffly. “Look, you needn’t worry about me, Ruka.”

“Of course I worry. You’re family,” she says, a trace of sadness in her tone.

He goes silent, feeling a bit embarrassed at the sentiment. Then he mutters, “Wow, is that the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me, Ruka?”

“Oh, be quiet! You haven’t matured a bit,” she says, hitting him lightly. “And you’re still awful at being honest about your feelings, I see.”

 _You have no idea,_ crosses his mind at his own expense.

Suddenly, the vampire outside opens the door just wide enough to look in, and says, “Ruka-sama, you have another guest requesting your audience. Would you like to see them now, or should I ask them to wait until you’re finished?”

“I don’t think it will kill Hanabusa to share me. Who is it?”

“Yuuki Kuran.”

At that, he almost stands up from his chair, he’s so taken aback. He tightly grips the armrests instead.

“Oh, that’s fine. Go ahead and let her in.”

The guard ushers in the pureblood, and Yuuki bounds happily in, smiling kindly at Ruka. She hardly seems to notice Aido’s presence as she moves to sit on the edge of the bed, clasping Ruka’s hand in her own as her gown spills over the bedside.

“Ruka-senpai, look at you! You’re breathtaking,” she chirps, beaming. Ruka blushes.

“I don’t know about that, but thank you, Yuuki-sama.”

“Your skin is much prettier than mine was when I was pregnant.”

“W-Well…” Ruka stammers, blush deepening. “Akatsuki probably spoils me more than he should.”

“Not at all! You can never have enough blood when you’re carrying a vampire child.”

Aido wasn’t sure he could feel more uncomfortable when she first came into the room, but he’s rapidly being proven very wrong. He hides his flushed face in one of his hands absentmindedly, hoping perhaps she hasn’t seen him at all.

“What’s wrong with Aido-senpai?” she whispers to Ruka, and he feels himself go pale.

“Don’t mind him, Yuuki-sama. He doesn’t know how to have mature conversations like these.”

“How did you know Ruka was up here?” Aido cuts in, glaring at Yuuki as he fails miserably to conceal the redness in his face.

“The same as you. Kain-senpai invited me,” she says, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Ruka may as well make an appearance at the soirée, with so many people coming and going like this…” he grumbles, catching only a glimpse of her wounded expression before averting his eyes.

Ruka is silent for a moment as she looks between the two of them, sensing the tension in the air. She frowns. “Is something going on between you two? I thought you were finally getting along.”

Neither Aido nor Yuuki say anything in response. Aido abruptly rises from his chair.

“I sincerely hope your birth goes smoothly, Ruka. Please take care,” he says quickly, as he turns his back on them and starts toward the door.

“Hanabusa, wait—”

“I’m sorry, this was my fault for interrupting,” Yuuki says under her breath, sounding hurt.

He opens the door and crosses the threshold, never looking back.

He knows he’ll need to apologize to Ruka later, but for now, all he can do is bound away—past the vampire girl, past the tapestries, past the statues lining the walls, as he childishly tries to outrun the shame that nips painfully at him.

\----------------------------------------------------

He finds himself entering one of the rooms, pressing his back flat against the wall as he sinks to his knees. He can’t begin to understand why his feet brought him here. Is he hiding? _What a joke_ , his mind counters. _What could he possibly have to hide from in here?_ As his heart pounds noisily in his chest, he digs his fingernails into his palms in an attempt to calm himself down. His clothes suddenly feel unbearably tight and hot against his skin.

He sets aside a moment to take inventory of his surroundings. Through the darkness, he identifies a small sofa and an easel, and vaguely wonders if this is a parlor of some sort. It occurs to him, however fleetingly, that he might like to see the entire room coated in a sheet of ice. He doesn't let himself imagine it, doesn't allow himself to feel a sense of comfort in the crackling sound of ice crystals crawling across the floorboards. Steady breaths, he tells himself, as he intentionally breathes frost into the air, tiny snowflakes dancing on the vapor.

The sound of urgent footsteps in the hall shatters his illusion of isolation. They grow steadily louder, and he sits very still, not making a sound. They slow to a stop outside of the opened door.

He already knows it’s her.

“Aido-senpai, are you in here?” she says softly into the darkness.

He doesn’t answer.

“Please, talk to me.” She steps into the room and almost immediately spots him on the floor next to the door. “Hey…”

Knowing he’s backed into a corner, he pulls himself up, and for just a moment he feels he could be capable of anything as he looks dangerously into her eyes. He has no idea what his expression must look like as he advances on her, his body moving entirely of its own volition. She attempts to increase the distance between them.

“What’s the matter with you?” she asks, a hint of sympathy in her voice, but she’s failing to hide her anxiety. “Why are you acting like this?” she tries again, fear springing up in her eyes as he backs her deeper into the room.

He reaches out and grabs her by the shoulders, shards of ice forming under his palms. She gasps at the feeling of sudden, piercing cold stinging at her bare skin, and then glares at him in outrage.

"Don’t you dare—mmph!”

He crashes his lips against hers, their teeth clashing as he kisses her deeply and aggressively, trying desperately to imbue her with the feelings he doesn’t have the strength to say out loud.

She slaps him, harder than he’s ever been struck before. He stumbles backward, and for a few seconds, the room spins wildly around him, a high-pitched ringing in his ears. His ice evaporates. A trickle of blood dribbles down his cheek, beading under his chin. He can hardly steady his legs.

He is such a fool.

“Don’t you ever think..." she says darkly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “...you can treat me like this.”

“I…” he says, dizzy, suddenly feeling very small. “I’m… sorry…”

She looks at him coldly, but there’s sadness just behind her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Yuuki-sama…”

She walks straight past him, heading for the door. He’s rendered motionless in that spot, eyes fixed on where she was just standing, her shoulders frozen to him.

“Don’t you get it, I had to get away from you—! I couldn’t stand to be near you, I couldn’t…” he makes out, vision growing cloudy. He thinks he hears the sound of her footsteps fall away. “I… I wasn’t able to stop myself from…”

As his words hang in the empty air, the hammering of his heart resounds louder in his ears, and he finds himself crying out, drowning out the sound with his own voice.

“What do you want me to say, Yuuki?!” he shouts, face hot with moisture; from blood or tears, he can’t tell. “Damn you, tell me what it is you want! Just don’t… leave me here, damn it!”

“Is that what you think you deserve?” she asks him, voice closer than he expects. He turns around too quickly, exacerbating his dizziness, and sees she’s still standing in the doorway.

“Of course not—!” The words tumble out of his mouth, a selfish relief crashing over him to know she’s there, still in front of him, still accessible. “Everything we’ve done, every second I’ve spent with you—none of it was deserved! Can’t you see that?!”

She frowns. “That isn’t true.”

“You drive me absolutely mad,” he spits out, and now he’s certain he’s crying. “You’re aware of that much, right?”

“Are you looking for an apology?”

“No!” He shakes his head emphatically, almost violently. “Just… I'm asking you, for my sake, to try to understand how... difficult... this is for me—how difficult this has _always_ been for me!”

He feels a lightheadedness overtaking him, caused in part by his outburst, and he steadies himself on the back of the sofa. Concern flashes through her eyes, but she stands her ground, keeping herself far away from him.

“How can I understand?” She sounds offended. “I still have no idea how you feel about me.”

A harsh laugh escapes him. “Are we back to this again? You’re still playing ignorant.”

“Tell me how you feel about me,” she says firmly, ignoring him. “Tell me to my face, and maybe I’ll forgive you for what you did.”

"Don't do this," he says, heart sinking down into his stomach.

“You asked me what I wanted. This is what I want.”

He honestly can’t believe that this is happening right here, right now, in this place of all places, all because of his damned inhibitions, his loss of self-control. He steels himself, clenching his eyes shut as he tries to say something, anything to keep her from abandoning him in this room.

“I don’t know…” he says weakly. “...how to put my feelings into words.”

She gazes seriously at him. “Do you love me?”

His expression turns uneasy. “That word... doesn’t sound right.”

“Then, do you hate me?” she tries again.

“Absolutely not!” he exclaims, his fangs drawn. He sighs. “I’m… attracted… to you.”

“Is that what you’ve been so afraid to admit? That you’re attracted to me?”

“It’s not so simple,” he says, becoming increasingly frustrated. “I’m also… furiously infatuated with you. Your scent, the taste of your blood, those things have always been hard for me to resist. I think somewhere deep inside of me, there might have always been a part that wanted them for myself. And now that you’ve willfully given them to me…” he trails off, eyebrows furrowed tightly. “I’m finding it difficult not to be possessive.”

Something within her seems to click, and her expression becomes one of astonishment. “Is that what all this was about? You were jealous when that man asked me to dance?”

Jealous. The word hits him with all the subtlety of cold water being poured over his head.

“...I suppose I was,” he concedes. Something about admitting that makes him feel a bit lighter.

“That’s at least reasonable,” she says, as she takes several steps toward him at last. “You’re so unpredictable sometimes I can’t stand it, and then you go and do things like using your powers on me out of nowhere…”

She’s right in front of him now, and he looks away, ashamed.

“I mean, sometimes I’ll think you’re finally letting me in, and then you go and intentionally do something to hurt me. Do you have any idea how painful that is?”

“I’d rather my actions be the reason you never return my feelings,” he murmurs to himself. “It’s better than accepting the alternative.”

“That’s cruel, senpai. You know I never had a choice.”

“Maybe,” he admits. “Then again… I’m probably a cruel person.”

Icy blue meets warm burgundy as they look into each other’s eyes. She lifts a finger to his face, brushing away the trail of blood there, and it leaves a crimson smudge across his cheek. He shies away from her touch.

“Where does this leave us, Aido-senpai?” she asks.

“That’s not for me to decide,” he says. “Have you forgiven me?”

“I’m not sure.” She bites down on her lip. “But… I don’t want things to change between us. Despite your feelings for me…”

“Don’t concern yourself with my feelings,” he tells her firmly. “At least let me deal with that much on my own.”

“If that’s what you want,” she says, yet doesn’t look entirely convinced. “But I want you to be more honest with me from now on. Because… I won’t know how to help if you keep blocking me out like this.”

He frowns deeply for a few moments, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “You say that, not knowing the things that run through my mind. How can you be sure you’ll like what I have to say?”

“I can't,” she says, looking just a bit sad. “But whatever it is, I can handle it.”

Like so many other exchanges between them, he doesn't know if she's right about that.

“Hey, Yuuki Cross…” he finds himself saying, cautiously, his posture suddenly going tense.

“Hm? What is it?” She looks curiously into his eyes, surprised by his abrupt change in demeanor. He glances away, intimidated by her penetrating stare, but then presses on before he loses his nerve.

“Would it… make you happy… if I was honest right now?” 

His words catch her off guard, and she seems to be at a loss, her eyes widening slightly. He sucks in a bit of air, beginning to regret this, but he’s already decided he’s going to see it through.

“Once I saw you tonight, I… couldn’t take my eyes off of you. You were so magnetic, I couldn’t stand it, and after that… I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.”

“O-Oh… is that so…” she stammers, growing embarrassed at his flattery.

“It was as if I was in the presence of one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, and…” He forces himself to look into her eyes, his cheeks burning, eyebrows knitted together. “That same woman is standing in front of me, right now… And…”

He stops short, a shadow cast over his face as he angles it toward the floor.

“And…?” she ventures, nervously, the burning in her cheeks mirroring his own.

“And I—” he blurts out, his voice rising in volume as his eyes meet hers again. “I think I want… to kiss that woman.”

The muscles in her face seem to spasm, his candor leaving her totally dumbfounded as she becomes ensnared in his gaze.

“E-Er…”

“Can I?” he asks her seriously, expression severe.

She nods, stiffly, and he brings his face closer, pressing his mouth to hers. As her eyes slide shut, he deepens their kiss, moving his lips against hers as he pulls her into his arms. They continue like that for several moments until he draws away from her, breathing uneasily.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, releasing her.

She still looks somewhat dazed, her lips parted as she processes his actions. “W-Wow, Aido-senpai… I didn’t know you could be… gentlemanly.”

“Of course I can!” he retorts, shooting her a glare. “Jeez, just because you never noticed…”

She takes in his defensive tone with a reflexive smile, but then seems to realize something.

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand… If you were jealous, why didn’t _you_ ask me to dance, senpai?”

“Wha… No way!!” he sputters, mortified at the idea. “In front of all those hungry aristocrats? They were looking for an excuse to criticize you, and now they’re going to happily slander your reputation on account of all that dancing. People expect you to be in mourning, Yuuki-chan.”

“That’s idiotic. I’m not going to let people decide for me how I should or shouldn’t mourn Zero.”

He sighs. “There you go again, oversimplifying everything—”

“Father? Father, are you up here?”

It’s the voice of his daughter that stops him short. It comes from the hall, just out of view, and he immediately begins to panic, nearly shoving the pureblood away from him in his haste to act natural.

“Hey—!” she protests.

“Quiet,” he hisses at her. “It’s Eiko. I have to go.”

“Wait, you—”

She tries to tell him something as he goes to the door, but he ignores her.

“I heard you calling for me,” he says as he steps out of the room, smoothly closing the door behind him. He’s caught his daughter just in time, several footsteps away from the room they were in.

“Oh, what were you doing in—?” she begins to ask, but then looks stunned. “Father, is that... blood on your face?” He goes pale as he instinctively brings a hand to his cheek, rapidly scrambling to think of a believable excuse for his state of disarray.

“A-Ah, that’s…”

“Is it yours? Or someone else’s…? Don’t tell me Ruka—”

“Yes, that’s right, Ruka was feeling especially greedy when I visited with her,” he quickly lies, trying his best not to look disgusted by the very notion.

“A-Are you serious…?” She seems to sense the absurdity in his story, but looks conflicted on whether she wants to ask for more details or not. Thankfully, she chooses to let it lie. “Anyway, I came looking for you, since I’m about to take my leave. I wanted to say goodbye.”

“What a shame.” He frowns. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to see more of each other.”

“I’m happy I got to see you at all,” she says, and then pulls him into a hug. “Take care of yourself, Father. I’ll be expecting that letter soon.” Her breath is warm as she talks into his chest.

“Look forward to it.” He pets her hair, just once, relaxing into the embrace.

“See you soon!” she tells him as she pulls away, and then hurriedly goes back down the stairs. He watches her as she goes, and then the door beside him cracks slowly open.

“I tried to warn you,” Yuuki says, laughing just a little.

“It couldn’t be helped,” he replies, faint irritation bubbling up inside him as he brings two fingers to his mouth and licks them, and then proceeds to rub them over his bloodied cheek. She pokes her head out of the doorway, observing him curiously.

“You’re wiping the wrong place. Go a little lower.”

He goes flushed, but attempts to follow her instruction, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh… Now you’re smearing it around…” she says, sounding mildly amused.

He glares at her. “Well, it’s not as if I can see what I’m doing! I wonder if there’s a washroom around here somewhere—”

“Come here, senpai,” she says, opening the door to him and beckoning him back into the room. He shoots her an inquisitive glance, but obeys, following her into the shadows. “Bend down,” she tells him, pointing a finger toward the floor. When his expression grows increasingly apprehensive, she huffs, becoming impatient. “Come on, I’m trying to help you!”

“...Well, if you insist,” he murmurs. He shifts his stance into a light bow, sheepishness playing on his face as he comes to understand where this is going. Her slender fingers brush against his face as she moves closer to him, and she lightly runs her tongue along his cheek, tracing the trail of blood down to his jaw. The sensation makes him go hot all over, and he swallows hard.

After a moment, she pulls away and inspects her handiwork, nodding her head.

“There, that looks good,” she decides.

He quickly straightens up, looking elsewhere as he wipes his cheek with the back of his hand. He turns away from her, starting toward the door.

“We should get back to the soirée. Everyone will be wondering where you are,” he says.

“Ah, you’re probably right,” she responds, hesitating momentarily before hurriedly following after him into the hallway.

As they stride along, toward the staircase and back down the stairs, neither knows quite what to say. He stays about a footstep ahead of her at all times, trying to fight his outward embarrassment while his mind recounts several times over what just transpired between them. As they make their way back into the ballroom, he plasters on his coolest, straightest face, pushing the thoughts out of his head.

“Yuuki-sama has returned!”

“Oh, look, it’s Kuran Yuuki-sama!”

The reemergence of the pureblood princess doesn’t go unnoticed, and he finds himself falling behind as a handful of vampires rush up to greet her, slipping out of sight before she’s able to sense his absence. Despite the distance he places between himself and the crowd, their murmurings remain within earshot.

“Yuuki-sama, are you still accepting dances?”

“Please, Yuuki-sama, there are so many who still wish to dance with you.”

He sees her looking around, perhaps for him, and he turns away from the commotion, thinking better of forcing his way to her side now. He quells that instinct.

“I’m sorry, everyone. I’m feeling rather tired now, but please don’t be afraid to ask me to dance at the next soirée.”

It’s her voice that reaches his ears, and his eyes widen.

“Ah, of course, Yuuki-sama.”

“It’s a difficult time for you. We understand.”

As the crowd goes sparse, her eyes find him at last. She furrows her eyebrows determinedly and gives him a firm nod. He returns that nod.

If he’s being honest with himself, he’s proud of her. Just as the thought crosses his mind, a thin smile ghosts his lips, and he knows he needn’t worry so much about her anymore—at least, not for the rest of this night.

It’s not so bad, he decides, to see her save herself every once in a while.


	4. a ghost of a home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a bit since I updated, so I figured I'd let you in on a little secret: this fic is entirely written already. Every chapter will make its way up here eventually, but if I'm taking a while, feel free to drop a comment to show your interest! It goes a long way in motivating me to finalize the formatting for AO3 submission.
> 
> And if the last chapter wasn't steamy enough for you, hopefully this one will take the edge off.

As the soirée comes to a close, he’s possessed with the urge to find her before she disappears into the night and out of his reach. Fortunately for him, she lingers out on the lawn near the entrance to the manor, glancing up at the stars as a number of other guests leave in various cars.

She seems to sense his approach, and she turns toward him before he has the chance to greet her.

“You haven’t left yet,” she says, and he wonders if the relief he sees behind her eyes is just his imagination. She’s holding her heels in one of her hands.

“You’re not wearing shoes,” he chides, crossing his arms, but there’s a hint of teasing in his tone.

“Mm, you caught me,” she says, angling her face away and settling her eyes on the sky again. “Why’d you come to see me?” she asks, starlight bouncing off of her irises, her body, lighting up the sweat on her skin. He clears his throat, dismissing his wandering thoughts.

“It occurred to me, since we’re so close to the mountains… I’ve been meaning to peruse the main Kuran library again, knowing what I now know about my research,” he tells her.

She must have been expecting some different response, because she nearly drops her shoes. She glances carefully at him out of the corner of her eye. “The place where I was born…?”

“Yes, I suppose it’s the same place.”

“Where we… lived with him, for a year…” she trails off, her lips forming a frown.

“The same,” he repeats, more pointedly this time.

“How will you get in?”

“You have a key, don’t you?”

She suddenly turns to look at him straight on, eyes going wide.

“You want me to accompany you?”

“Is there some other way I can enter?” he asks rhetorically, then gives a shrug. “So, what do you say? If it’s too difficult for you—”

“No… I’ll let you in,” she says gravely, letting a shadow cross over her face. “It wouldn’t be right for me to hold back your research just because I’m too weak to face my feelings.”

“Hey, that’s not…” He frowns. “Look, I’m perfectly capable of making arrangements some other time, I just thought—”

“I’ve told you it’s fine,” she cuts him off, slipping into her heels. “Come on, senpai, let’s catch a car,” she continues as she walks briskly past him, her scent lingering on the air as he stays rooted to the spot, left bewildered by her abrupt mood change. Then, he shakes it off, turning around and trailing after her as she waves down one of the unoccupied chauffeurs.

They sit side by side in the backseat as the driver turns the ignition and the engine hums to life. When the car leads them through the courtyard and into the dark streets, he fixes his gaze on her. She stares distantly out the window, leaning her chin against her hand.

“Are you certain you’re okay with this?” he asks, and she looks over at him, expressionless. Without warning, she shifts closer, settling her weight against him as her head meets his shoulder. His whole body goes rigid, his heart thumping loudly against his ribcage.

“U-Uh…” he stammers, eyes snapping to the driver in the front seat, who appears unaware that anything is out of the ordinary.

“Don’t ask me that anymore,” she tells him, her voice quiet as she curls her arms under his.

“Fair enough,” he replies. The weight of his guilt helps to steady his racing heart, and he plants a light kiss upon the crown of her head, hoping perhaps that could offset some fraction of the pain he’s caused on account of this selfish request he has asked of her.

She wordlessly laces the fingers of one of her hands with his, and begins to drift off to sleep. He doesn’t say anything more as the car rolls deeper into the mountains.

\----------------------------------------------------

“Yuuki-sama.”

“Hnn…” she mumbles, a bit of drool pooling over the edge of her mouth.

“Hey, Yuuki-sama. Wake up,” he says, nudging her with the arm she’s still holding tightly to.

“Aido… senpai…” she mutters, turning her face on his shoulder. She groggily comes to her senses, one of her hands coming up to wipe the saliva from her lips.

“We’ve arrived,” he tells her, unraveling his arm from her grip.

“Already?” Surprised, and she pulls her head up to shift her gaze out the window. Sure enough, the mansion is within sight. “Oh…”

As she takes in her surroundings, he unbuckles his seatbelt and exits the vehicle, thanking the driver. He’s paying their fare just as she emerges from the other side of the car, still looking a bit dazed. The air is cold here, and it hits her with some force, blowing her braid askew and knocking several more hairs loose. She tries to tuck some of them behind her ear as she gains her bearings.

The driver thanks them and then goes out of sight, getting back into the car and driving off. He comes to the pureblood’s side, peering at her conflicted expression.

“Are you cold?” he asks.

“No,” she replies, but he’s not sure she’s listening, her eyes fixed on the manor before them.

“Hm. Let’s get you inside.” He takes her wrist and pulls her down the path toward the large entrance. When they reach the main door, she rummages through her bag until she procures a ring of keys. She finds the right one after some silent consideration, and then unlocks the door.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen this place,” she says breathily as they enter the foyer. She frowns as she inspects the dust collected on the wooden floor, disrupted by their footsteps. “It’s even dustier than the last time I was here.”

He chuckles dryly as he lights a lamp on one of the tables, casting a warm glow over the walls of the entrance hall. “Didn’t you hire anyone to do housekeeping?”

“I guess I forgot,” she sighs. “Kaname entrusted your father to take care of all that, but I never stepped up once it became my responsibility. I’m totally hopeless, aren’t I?”

“My father would have continued to help if you’d asked,” he says, and then frowns. “But a lot was happening around that time. I think I can see why it fell low on your list of priorities.”

“Yeah,” she replies, sounding somewhat out of it.

“Hey, don’t make a face like that.” He sheds his outer coat and hangs it on a nearby coat rack. “Are there any rooms you’d like to stop by before I head to the library?”

“Maybe later,” she murmurs. “Do you mind if I tag along? Or will my company be a distraction?”

“Hmm, come along if that's what you want,” he says, and then brings his knuckles to his chin thoughtfully, having considered something new. “...Unless, of course, you’re going to want me to teach you about everything, because then I’ll have to come up with lesson plans, and quizzes, and probably several new mnemonics—”

“S-Stop, Aido-senpai! You’re going to give me a heart attack!” she exclaims, waving her hands out in front of her. He lets out a wry laugh, grateful for her shift in energy, and then they both set off toward the inner sanctions of the mansion.

They find the library with relative ease, and he immediately begins to flitter from bookcase to bookcase, thumbing through pages before setting books back in place or folding them under his arm. Soon, he has a modest pile, and he takes a seat at a table in order to spend more time with each one. Meanwhile, she finds herself growing bored in no time at all. She stretches out on a sofa by the window, under the moonlight, thinking to herself. She examines her choppy nails as she crosses her legs, her gown billowing beneath her.

“I never thought I’d be coming back here with you, Aido-senpai.”

“Mmm,” he responds, tone noncommittal as he only half hears her words, focused on the academic journal before him.

“I wonder what you really thought of me back then,” she muses aloud. “There’s no way you would have been honest then, but maybe you’d tell me now.”

He doesn’t answer her. He turns another page.

“We were both trapped here, but instead of being friends, we just annoyed each other.”

“When you asked if you were going to be a distraction, I was under the impression that you would make an _effort_ not to be,” he finally says, turning in his chair to give her a look of exasperation. But when he sees her dress in disarray, shifted out of place beneath her, his face goes red. “Y-You…”

She follows his gaze downward. “What is it? I’ve been wearing this dress all day, of course it’s going to get wrinkled. Come to think of it, I should probably see if there are clothes here I can change into…”

He doesn’t hear much of what she’s saying as he takes in her disheveled appearance. She’s now only a figment of the stunning, put-together woman he laid eyes upon earlier, as she emanates a different kind of attractiveness—one that can only be accomplished through movement, and touch, and _living_. Even her faded lipstick reminds him that his lips were on hers only hours ago.

He finds her downright seductive, and all at once, it dawns on him that they are finally alone.

“Wh-Why are you staring at me like that…?” she asks him, sitting up, the top of her gown shifting slightly to expose just a bit of cleavage.

His face burns incessantly as he turns back around in his chair, his embarrassment triumphing over his libido. His eyes scan across the pages before him, but the chemical formulas seem unrecognizable now.

“Hey, what’s wrong…?” She sounds genuinely concerned as she rises from the couch, and he stiffens in his chair as she approaches. He pulls an arm over his lap, attempting to cover the one thing he can’t control in the face of his provocative thoughts. She rounds the table and comes face-to-face with him, her eyebrows tense with worry.

“It’s nothing,” he says, his tone more irritable than he intends.

“It’s not nothing,” she retorts, frowning deeply. “Did I make you angry?”

“No!” he says, glaring at her.

“Then why are you yelling?! Just tell me the truth—”

“Damn it, Yuuki Cross!” he shouts, flustered and frustrated, his face falling into his hands. “You’re so damn imperceptive! What am I even supposed to do with you?!”

Through his fingers, he can see she looks utterly hurt in response to his words. Just as she’s about to no doubt lash out at him over her gross misinterpretations, he makes a kneejerk, rash decision to put an end to it all now, modesty be damned. He abruptly pushes his chair back and stands up from the table, his cheeks flushed with copious amounts of his own blood, as he presents to her the unmistakable evidence of his arousal forming a tight tent against his dark slacks.

“I wonder,” he says, gritting his teeth. “Is this message clear enough for you?”

“O-Oh…” she stammers, a response dying on her tongue. She’s staring now, truly a deer in headlights.

“So, now that you’ve made this more awkward than I could have ever imagined possible…” he says, folding his arms across his chest. “What do you plan on doing with this ‘truth’ you wanted so badly?”

“W-Well…”

“Or maybe,” he suggests, starting to back her against one of the bookcases, “You need to be told exactly what it is I want?”

Her face washes over with color as he brings his lips to her neck, kissing her there and then running his fangs lightly over her skin. She is left frozen, completely speechless.

“Of course, your blood is enticing,” he breathes against her shoulder, running the backs of his fingers down her arm. “I would never say no to your delicious blood. But…” he continues, his other hand moving to her breasts, the tips of his fingers gliding along the cut of her bodice, tracing her supple skin. “Right now… What I want more than anything else…” he trails off, letting his words hang in the air for a moment before chuckling to himself. “Well, you’ve probably figured it out by now, right?”

When he pulls back from her to survey her reaction, she gives him the tiniest of nods.

“But what I want to know is…” he says, frowning slightly. “Do we share the same intentions?"

She whimpers a bit under his intense gaze, but does little else.

“It’s your turn to be honest about what you want, Yuuki Cross,” he tells her seriously.

“I…” She swallows thickly. “I w-want… you…”

“Now, that can be easily misconstrued,” he says provokingly. “Is that your final answer?”

“No, I… I’m not a child, and I can say these things—” she says earnestly, more to herself than to him. “So, I’ll say it…! W-What I want... is… t-to go to bed with you, Aido-senpai!” she exclaims, her cheeks burning as she looks decisively into his blue eyes.

Her frankness sends a shiver down his spine, leaving him more turned on than before. "H-Honestly, you're the only person I know who could sound innocent saying those things..." he murmurs. He draws his face closer, pressing his forehead against hers, face impossibly hot as his eyes go glassy with desire.

"S-So..." she says, her eyelids growing heavy as they bridge the gap between their lips. He stops just short of her mouth, her breath warm and sweet against him. He presses his eyebrows together.

"Wait," he mumbles, although his expression says anything but. "If... If we do this here, I don't know if I can hold myself back..."

She looks perplexed. "Nobody's asking you to hold back," she says, and then moves her lips closer to his, this time with more urgency.

"No, I... " he says, looking increasingly troubled. "I... don't want it to be like this... Not tonight."

He pulls back from her, but his expression is pained.

"E... Eh?!" she exclaims, flabbergasted. "Are you really just going to say all that stuff and then—"

He suddenly curls his arms under her, sweeping her up into his arms. She lets out a yelp, confusion washing over her as she searches his face for any explanation, but he doesn't meet her eyes as he carries her across the room and into the hall.

"Where are you taking me?" she asks. She feels a bit like a child, her legs dangling over the side of his arm. Not her favorite feeling.

"My old room. If I can still remember where it is," he says, hesitating for just a moment at a juncture before turning down another corridor.

"O-Oh... I see..."

"Ah… This is it, isn't it?" he muses aloud, pausing before a door. When he bends to twist the doorknob, her gown brushes against the floor. Then the door swings open with a merciful _click_ , permitting them access to the dark, still bedroom.

Truly, it's as if nothing has changed. The curtains hang the same, the bedding as familiar as ever, the door to the bathroom cracked just ajar—he swears that if he didn't know any better, he might believe he left this place only yesterday. His feet lead him to the bedside, and he's about to lay her down, when—

Ah... that's right. The dust.

"What's wrong?" she asks, at once sensing his hesitancy.

He frowns. "Just... wait one moment."

He dips down—perhaps a bit too quickly, as she clings to his neck when he does—and in one sweeping motion, forcibly yanks the bedspread from the bed and discards it on the floor. Small clouds of dust dance on the air around them, and she frees her arms from his shoulders.

"Y-You could've given me a warni—"

He silences her with a forceful kiss. As he lowers her to the bed, sliding his lips hungrily against hers, the distance that comes between their bodies makes him ache. Once her weight settles into the mattress, he finally breaks their kiss and pulls his arms out from beneath her.

She mewls, her eyelids parting as he goes. "Aido-senpai..."

Half-bent over her, he lets himself take in everything about this moment. That doe-like look in her eyes, her delicate collarbone, the rise and fall of her chest as she takes nervous gulps of air. He is filled with anticipation and something else as his gaze travels down her body, and then she curls her fingers around his tie. 

"Quit making me wait..." she says petulantly, giving it a firm tug. He can't help but smirk as he climbs on top of her, his knees pressing down on the ruffles of her gown.

"My, you're impatient, aren't you?" he hums before planting several kisses along her jaw. A pleasant sound falls from her lips. "How unbefitting of a pureblood princess such as yourself."

"You're always criticizing me," she says, pouting, but her cheeks are practically glowing. "'Pureblood' this, and 'pureblood' that—I'd like to see you live up to all these standards, senpai."

He continues to kiss her skin, moving along her neck and down her clavicle. He slips a hand under her, feeling for the entrance to her dress. Once his fingers find the zipper, he pulls her waist tightly against him as he opens her gown, and she gasps at the feeling of the cold sheets against her back. Then he lifts himself from her, surveying his handiwork. The bodice hangs loosely around her midsection now, the only barrier between the girl's bare flesh and himself. He slips his fingertips under the cut of the dress, gently sliding it down her bosom as slowly as he dares. If she were to become any more flustered, her flushed skin might burn him.

"H-Hey... Y-You're making this all about me, you know..." she complains.

"Perhaps," he admits, not taking her hands off of her. He presses several more feathery kisses over the tops of her breasts, and then his eyes turn toward her, glinting like azure marbles. "If there's something you want, it's your responsibility to take it, Yuuki Cross."

"I-I know that..." she says, sounding somewhat unsure of herself. He crawls further down her body, running his fingernails over her skin, leaving tingling, electric sensations along her sides. "It's just, you seem to be... really enjoying this..."

The gown is bunched down to her hips now, and he can see the band of her pantyhose. He kisses her abdomen, parting his lips slightly to graze his teeth against her. "You're not wrong about that," he says, his voice pointedly placid.

Just as he's about to pull her dress down her legs, she quickly props herself up by her elbows. "C-Come on, no fair! What about you? You're still wearing all your clothes!"

"Hm?" He straightens up at her words. "Is _that_ what's got you so worked up?"

"P-Part of it..." she mutters, averting her eyes, her whole body hot.

He sighs, vexed as he looks at her face. "Jeez, ignoring all my advances just to be preoccupied with something like that..." he murmurs, bringing a hand up to loosen his tie. He pulls it over his head and lets it fall to the floor, and then fingers at the buttons of his vest. "You really are an absent-minded woman."

"H... Hey!! Was that another insult?!"

"Okay, okay," he says, sounding only minimally apologetic as he pulls open his undershirt. "Look, isn't this what you wanted?" he says, and then pulls the sleeves down his arms, discarding the shirt alongside his other clothes.

She surveys him for several moments, lips pursed, and then says, "You're not feeling shy enough."

He lets out another sigh, this one more impatient. "If you’d like me to take off everything, just say so, Yuuki Cross."

"W-Well, you were about to do the same to me..."

"It's not a competition, you know."

"I know that! But, I mean, it just feels less weird if—" she says, blush brightening as she fumbles for her words. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is... You're not the only one who wants to... t-take clothes off of another person, okay?!"

That actually stuns him, and he barely has time to process her words before she's directly in front of him, advancing on his belt buckle with a speed that sends his reflexes into alarm.

"H-Hey...!" he shouts at her, face burning as his hand catches her wrist. "What am I supposed to think, with you coming out of nowhere like that?!"

"S... Sorry, did that surprise you?" she says, suddenly looking very sheepish.

"Jeez..." he mutters, releasing her hand as his blush spreads further across his cheeks. He turns his face away from her. "Well, go on, then."

"You... You're giving me permission...?" she asks, and he gives her a stiff nod, not looking at her.

Somewhat nervously, she brings her fingers to his belt, unclasping it from its buckle and proceeding to pull it loose. Pushed through by her momentum, she moves to the button of his slacks and unloops it with her thumb. However, her fingers twitch as they hover over his zipper, her motivation dying in the face of what lies underneath.

"Something the matter?" he asks, very clearly attempting to keep his tone level.

"N-No," she says sternly, but her hand hangs frozen in place.

"What're you acting so freaked out for? It's not as if you're going to see anything immodest."

"Th-That's true..." she says, seemingly reassured, but then her face contorts in offense at the implication. "Hey, wait a second, why aren't you excited?!"

The blood drains from his face, and he brings his hands up into a defensive stance. "Don't get the wrong idea! L-Listen here, it's only that we've been doing nothing but talking, and—"

"Oh..." she says, failing to hide her disappointment, and she seems to shrink into herself.

Hurt flashes through his eyes, and he scoffs, involuntarily drawing an inch or so back from her. "Well, if that's how you're going to be about it..." he mumbles, folding his arms.

Her eyes grow sad, and she self-consciously shields her breasts with one arm, the other coming up to touch his shoulder.

"No, Aido-senpai, I..."

He glances at her carefully out of the corner of his eye.

"...I just thought you'd have a problem with me seeing it... like that..."

"Hmph. I told you it was fine," he says, frowning. "Besides, do you really think I can stay like this for long with you looking like that?" 

He shifts his body toward her and then pushes her back against the bed, pinning her down by her arms. Though it takes her by surprise, she doesn't resist him.

"Now, where was I?" he hums, arching his back as he plants several more kisses along her stomach, fingers hooking into the folds of her dress, hiking it down her thighs. Her breath hitches in her throat when he brushes his warm lips against her pelvis, and then slips the gown over her ankles. He lifts himself to gaze at her—now nearly naked beneath him—only to settle on her heated, frenzied face.

"Hey, Yuuki Cross," he says provocatively as he stretches himself over her, bringing his mouth to her ear and hovering there for a moment. She goes still underneath him, and he can hear her heart thundering, pumping hot, roaring blood through her arteries as if her very life is at stake.

"Y-Yes..." she makes out, her voice hoarse.

"There's something you might want to see," he whispers huskily into her ear, his hips dipping down to prod himself against her. She trembles and he chuckles lightly, pulling away and straightening up his spine. "You don't have to do anything," he adds when her expression turns visibly nervous. "But I thought you'd like to know."

She takes hold of his arm without warning, drawing herself up. Wordlessly, she extends her hand to his bulge, dipping beneath the fold to seize the zipper there. He breathes uneasily, caught off guard by her urgency, but stands his ground, knowing full well that one wrong move could break her out of her spell and scare her off.

He has to remind himself how fragile she is, how easy it is to leave chips in her porcelain guise, even as she unwaveringly pulls open his slacks with a newfound fervor in her burgundy eyes. The weight of his belt causes his pants to slip midway down his thighs, falling open on her legs, and his heart races just a bit as he glances down despite himself, trying to assess exactly what it is she can or can't see at this point—

She's already seized the band of his underwear, and an instinctive yelp escapes him as she attempts to yank it down, meeting obvious resistance from his erection. She freezes at his sound, looking at him with concern, and he goes bright red, glaring at her.

"H-Hey, j-just..." he stammers, trying to catch his breath, his eyebrow twitching slightly. "Just open up the front, alright?" he says, cheeks still burning as he turns his face away from her.

"R... Right," she agrees, sounding apologetic, but then her hands hesitate just inches away from him. Just like that, he's broken the spell, and he heaves a sigh. Worst of all, he knows he's no longer at his prime, as he rapidly loses his hold on the mood.

"Listen, I know you're trying, but..." he mumbles as he moves off of her, extending his legs so that he can remove his pants himself. "You don't have to force yourself."

She looks hurt as she reaches out weakly for him and utters, "No, I—!"

"Relax, Yuuki-chan," he tells her in a steady, commanding voice, locking eyes with her. Thankfully, she appears to be grounded somewhat by his words, and he discards his slacks and shoes on the floor.

"Maybe it's hard for me to go slow... with you..." she admits, pulling her knees up to her chest.

He wastes no time in closing the gap between them, bringing a hand up to brush against the tops of her knees. "Just... leave the work to me, alright?" he says, and she makes a complicated expression. He gently pulls her legs away from her, pushing her back against the bed with a seemingly practiced confidence, but it's mostly for her sake. For once, she seems to appreciate his willingness to direct her.

He presses several impassioned kisses along her skin, leaving behind red ovals that quickly fade as he descends down her torso. Sooner than he expects, she's easing into his touch and grasping at the sheets with trembling fingers, which leaves his head swimming with desire. As he carefully removes her pantyhose, rolling them down her legs, the vulnerable look on her face makes him nearly burst out of his briefs.

After he sets the tights aside, his hand caresses her inner thigh, trailing toward the edge of her panties. She releases a sharp breath as he traces the line there, investigating her, feeling the little hairs peeking out. Unable to make himself wait any longer, he slips his fingers underneath, and instantly her back arches against the mattress. She lets out a small cry as he glides his fingertips over her warm, moist lips.

"Ai—Aido-senpai!!"

With his other hand, he tugs her panties several inches down and brings his face close to her mound. "Hmm," he purrs, the irises of his eyes flashing red as he listens to the blood coursing below. "What would you say if I offered to drink your blood right now?" he asks, beginning to slide her underwear over her thighs.

"Th... There?!" she asks, sounding mortified and breathless all at once.

"I won't hurt you," he assures her, upturning his eyes at her. "And I'm not just saying so," he punctuates, for good measure.

Her expression can only be described as troubled. He slips her underwear the remainder of the way down her legs as she processes his suggestion, and her face burns when she realizes what he's done.

"H-Hey...! Are you trying to distract me?!”

"I wonder?" he says, lightly amused, as he tosses her panties aside and parts her legs, planting a kiss on the top of her mound, taking in the scent of her sex.

"A-Ah... Wait, i-is this what you were planning all along...?" she stammers, seeming to realize he's less than eager to get down to business of the penetrative sort.

"I'm just doing as I please," he says, as his fangs poke further out to permeate her tuft of curly hair. "And what I intend to do... is enjoy you, Yuuki Cross." He bares down, puncturing the spongy skin, and she gasps out loud as two ribbons of blood drip down her sex. He catches one of the trails with his tongue, running it softly over her slit as he coats his mouth with the nectar, relishing in the taste. She throws her head back and groans, her senses incited, a fire already beginning to build up inside of her at his touch.

He continues to explore her with his tongue, his thumb and forefinger snaking down to part her inner lips slightly, allowing him access to her entrance. As her blood mingles with her natural flavor, he greedily laps and suckles at her, and then he settles down on his elbows, wrapping his arms under her, allowing himself to dig in.

In no time at all, she's putty in his hands, yielding to him entirely. She shivers at his every movement, every noise, and wave after wave of excitement ripples over her as she presses her eyes shut, murmuring inaudible things and occasionally his name. He can barely stay composed as he tantalizes her, arousal swelling within him, undulating through his stomach as he pushes her dangerously close to the edge, as far as she will let him. He draws one of his arms back from her, sliding a hand into the opening of his underwear and freeing his aching, needy cock. His arm falls into an easy motion as he squeezes his fist around it and begins to stroke himself, his breath hitching in his chest as he flattens his tongue, gliding it up and down her.

She's wholly lost in herself, not even looking at him as he shifts his attention to her budding clitoris, his lips puckering against it as he hums a pleasurable sound, the tip of his tongue darting out to flick gently at her hood. Her breaths become more shallow, her legs vibrating around his head, and he watches as her face twists in rapture, her fangs digging into her bottom lip. The sight leaves him weak, and he increases his intensity, both on her and on himself, as his eyebrows form tight, concentrated knots.

Within seconds, she breaks the tension in the air with a guttural, oscillating moan, reverberating in her chest as she pulsates under his mouth, her whole body tensing up as it surrenders itself to the climax. With the noise ringing in his ears and her taste on his tongue and her flesh flooding his vision, he finds it impossible to hold back any longer, and his seed spurts out of him in hot ropes across the sheets.

They're both panting when the room comes back into clarity for him, her whole body flushed and unfolding before him, his fingernails still digging little half-moons into her leg with a vigor that seems almost silly to him now. He pockets his weeping, retreating cock back into his underwear, still hovering over her, her pheromones dizzying him. He pushes himself up onto his hands, running his tongue over his lips, the taste of her blood and sweat and sex filling his brain even as he tries to pull himself together.

"Hnn..." she mewls, pushing her thighs tightly together when he draws back, sweat dabbling her forehead and mussing her bangs. She hardly looks at him at all when he stretches his arms above his head and then settles into the mattress beside her, rolling onto his back. Slowly, she turns on her side, and while hiding her eyes from him, quietly pulls an arm across his waist. He looks curiously at her as she nestles gently into his pectoral.

"Hey…" he says, sounding somewhat pitying, a nervous smile playing on his lips.

"Is it... okay if I do this?" she asks him softly, guilt at the edge of her tone.

"Yeah," he decides, maybe too quickly for his own good. His arm curls around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him, pressing her bare skin against his. He vaguely thinks that her warmth feels nice, and doesn't catch himself.

"Even though you weren't okay with me calling you by your first name..." she murmurs.

"Ha. Call me what you want," he says peacefully. She goes silent for a few moments.

"You sound happy, senpai," she says, a bit wistfully.

"Is that what you think?" He sounds amused, but unease stirs somewhere deep inside him—a distant, haunting feeling—making the taste in his mouth sour slightly. "Maybe,” he concedes. “It’s not such a bad thing, to be wanted like this, too.”

"You’re right,” she agrees, and then buries her nose into his skin, as if to hide from his gaze.

“H-Hey, what are you feeling so modest for?” he murmurs, his cheeks growing red.

“I can’t believe you saw me like this…” she mumbles, her body going very rigid against him.

“It-It’s not something that's worth getting worked up over…” he says, just as much to himself as to her. He’s beginning to get flustered, the gratification wearing off while faint images remain suspended in his memory. Suddenly, she brings her legs close to herself, curling into a ball against him, seeming to try to shrink away. Panic starts to bubble up inside of him, and he shakes her a bit. “Hey…!! It’s not so bad, right? ...R-Right?!”

She stays fixed to that spot, latched onto him, her face turned away.

“...Do you wish I hadn’t?” he asks, an air of trepidation to his voice. He’s surprised by how hurt the prospect makes him feel.

“I-It’s not like that…” she says, voice muffled against his skin. “You had me in the palm of your hand, senpai… Feeling like that… it’s so embarrassing.”

“Hey… Could you possibly exaggerate more…?” he murmurs under his breath, face flushed.

“What’s more…” she continues, her voice sounding more berating with each passing moment. “There’s nothing inside of me that could have that power over you. I couldn’t even gather enough courage to take what I wanted… I’m nothing but a child after all.”

“Don’t worry about that...” he tells her, but his cheeks are practically glowing, a crease forming between his brows. “And don’t be so eager to call yourself a child after the way I looked at you.”

"Sorry," she mumbles, still disheartened, impossibly distant in his arms.

"I realize I'm not your first choice, but the least you could do is make eye contact," he says, frowning deeply. "It may be hard for you to believe, but I am a sensitive person, you know."

Receptive to his guilting as ever, she turns her head just a bit, chin rolling over his ribcage. Her expression is sullen, but a smug smile creeps up on his lips at the sight of her face.

"Ah, so you can follow my instructions, after all."

"Don't tease me," she says, pouting. "I really will bring you to your knees, and then you'll see how it feels."

"Is that so?" he says, smirking, not at all fazed. "You couldn't look less threatening right now, Yuuki Cross."

"Is that a challenge, Hanabusa?" she says in a low voice, rising herself up to lean over him, her eyes piercing and severe. As her shadow casts over him, his expression shifts uncomfortably.

"What's with that all of a sudden?" he says nervously, sweating a bit. "You don't have anything to prove to me. Come on, let's just... stay like this for a while."

Her tough demeanor falters, and she slumps. "Ah, it didn't work..." she says, suddenly sheepish again.

"Don't tell me you were actually trying to seduce me just now?" he says, mild amusement flickering over his blue eyes.

"That was my best face, but you still rejected me outright!" she exclaims, defeated, as she buries her face in his neck in order to conceal her expression from him once more. He can't help but let out a laugh.

"It's not that I'm not flattered," he says into her hair, a hint of redness in his cheeks. "But if you're expecting me to bounce back so quickly, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."

"Even if I put the dress back on?" she asks, sounding hopeful.

"D-Don't use things like that against me...!" he blurts out, and then squeezes his arms tightly around her, roughly nuzzling his lips against her scalp. "Besides, covering ourselves would be rather counterproductive, wouldn't it?" he muses, trying to pick on her.

"Not if it has the same effect on you a second time," she retorts, tone surprisingly cheeky.

"H-Hey...!!" he shouts, his whole face going red as she giggles, her breath tickling the hairs on his neck.

As they lay like that for a moment, he can't help but wonder when things became so much more comfortable between them. Teasing each other like this... He never imagined that something so personable could feel natural, even pleasant, with her—and not laced with a single critique.

"Let's stay here for a few days," he finds himself saying, his voice oddly pensive as it leaves him.

"Huh...?" She angles her large eyes toward him, pulling away to give him a look of surprise.

"I'm joking, of course," he quickly recovers, once he realizes what he's said. He plasters a neutral expression on his face, covering up his embarrassment as it dawns on him how careless he's being with his thoughts. "This place is hardly livable in this state, after all, and there's no one here to cook meals."

"Well, yeah..." she says, curiously peering at him. "Doesn't that go without saying?"

"Yes, I suppose it does," he mumbles, looking elsewhere.

"It's okay if it's just for tonight, though, right?" she says suddenly, and his eyes widen in response. She presses on, although her cheeks redden just a bit. "I mean, you haven't gotten very much work done, and it's already so late, we'd be traveling during the day just to get all the way back home..."

When his expression grows increasingly perplexed, she hurriedly continues, filling in the silence.

"I don't mind traveling during the day, but I know you get cranky when you have to be out in the sun, so... I just thought..."

The corner of his lips tugs up in amusement as she trails off absentmindedly, and she puffs out her cheeks, huffing.

"C'mon, why aren't you saying anything?! You're weirding me out, being so quiet like that!"

"I was interested in hearing what sorts of things you say when you prattle on," he admits, and she throws him a glare, her cheeks burning. Her expression only spurs him on. “I’m curious, what other sorts of details about me have you got filed away in that head of yours, hmm?”

"I'm putting my clothes back on," she says irritably, and then climbs over him, scurrying to the edge of the bed before he can protest. He watches her as she goes, making a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort.

"While it's... nice, that you took my feelings into consideration," he calls after her, sitting upright in the bed, "I'm not going to force you to stay in this place if it's painful for you. I'm not so self-serving, you know."

She avoids his gaze as she bends to sort through the garments scattered on the floor. "I'll be okay," she says firmly. "And besides, I thought I told you not to bring that up anymore."

"Suit yourself," he concedes, shrugging his shoulders. "Then, we'll stay overnight."

She simply nods and then tosses his slacks at him. He catches them by the belt, frowning as he surveys the wrinkles that have formed. His cursory glance doesn't go unnoticed by her.

"I'm going to go look through our storage and see if there are any spare clothes," she says as she pulls on her undergarments. "You're welcome to choose something, too, if it fits. You and Kaname probably aren't too different in size—"

"K... K-Kaname-sama's clothes?!" he loudly exclaims, doubling back at her implication, his grip tightening around his pants as his complexion goes ghostly white. His sudden outburst startles her, and she nearly topples over as she whirls around on impulse, regarding him with worry.

"What—What is it?!"

"I..." he makes out, his expression rapidly shifting to one of embarrassment. "Er, sorry, I... I guess that sort of thing still has an effect on me..."

"What sort of thing?" she asks, thoroughly confused.

"Er... ahh..." he struggles, his face going very red. "Ah... Can we not talk about this?"

"I nearly fell over on my face, Aido-senpai!"

"Look, I already apologized, I don't see why we have to talk about any of my private and very respectful thoughts about Kaname-sama's personal possessions—!!"

"Were you seriously thinking weird stuff about being in Kaname's clothes just now?!"

"A-Absolutely not!! Where did you even get an idea like that?! I mean, it's only that I couldn't possibly wear something that once graced Kaname-sama's body—"

As he frantically scrambles to defend himself, she looks bewildered, tired, and mildly nauseated all at once. She interrupts him, murmuring, "Aido-senpai, I've always wondered this, but you're actually... a really weird guy, aren't you?"

"Wh—What?! What is that supposed to mean?!" he cries out, flashing his fangs at her, in a full-blown frenzy as he throws his pants to the side and clamors to his feet. "Don't misunderstand me and start getting all these strange ideas in your head—!"

"It... It's okay, senpai. Even if you are thinking about my brother when you're with me..."

"Y-You...!! Listen, you've got it all wrong, okay?!" he exclaims, reaching out to pull her against his chest. "Of course, I respect and adore Kaname-sama, but—!! My feelings when I'm with you like this, they’re..."

He abruptly trails off, his face twisting in utmost horror as he realizes what he's saying. He goes a deep shade of red, giving her a hard squeeze.

"Argh...!! What are you even making me say?! I'm not explaining myself to you, Yuuki Cross!" he exclaims, stubbornly holding her tightly to him, far too embarrassed to let her see his face at this point. She wriggles uncomfortably in his grasp.

"Ack! Senpai, let me go—!"

"I won't," he says simply, petulantly.

"You're being so childish!" she cries, pounding her fists against his chest.

"So what? This was your fault to begin with," he grumbles, pouting.

"I'm sorry I called you weird! Now let go of me!"

"Hmph," he sighs, loosening his hold on her ever so slightly. "Fine."

He releases her, and she gasps for air as she pushes herself away from him, shooting him a scolding look. His expression remains unsympathetic, and he doesn’t say anything more as he steps into his pants and secures them around his waist. She’s zipping up her gown by the time he’s pulled his collared shirt over his arms. She leaves behind the pantyhose and heels and makes her way to the bedroom door.

“I’ll be in the library,” he tells her, just before she goes out of sight.

“Sure,” she chirps, and then she’s gone.

He finishes dressing himself swiftly, making it a point not to glance at the bed, the sheets of which he knows will need to be stripped and cleaned. He’ll worry about that later.

It would be best to forge ahead with business—rather than pleasure—at the forefront of his mind. Making a decisive step over her discarded pantyhose, he once more returns to the Kuran library.


	5. a point of tangency

He quickly loses track of time as he buries himself in reading, only occasionally stopping to jot down notes on a piece of parchment beside him. He thinks several hours must have passed before he sees her again, striding in through the archway in a billowing, white nightgown, rubbing at her eyes as her thick waves of hair trail behind her.

“Senpai…” she utters, looking incredulously at him from across the room. He lifts his eyes from the page, noticing the daylight spilling in through the windows for the first time. “You’re still working…?”

“I was thinking of staying up,” he says dismissively, returning his attention to the book directly in front of him. “I don’t get many opportunities to come back here.”

She watches him quietly for a few moments. Then, she says somewhat wistfully, “You work so hard.”

“You’re only realizing that just now?” he murmurs while cross-referencing one passage with another, fingertips anchoring his place on the page.

“I guess I am,” she chuckles. She surveys the handful of open-faced books scattered across the table as she sidles up to him. “I’ve never seen you concentrate so intently.”

“What a rude thing to say. Did you think those progress reports were written over tea?” he says, furrowing his brows.

“You’re terrible at accepting compliments,” she says.

“You’re terrible at giving them,” he retorts. “Saying something like, ‘I admire your ability to work tirelessly in the face of obstacles,’ would have sufficed.”

She laughs wryly. “Nothing would make you happier than writing up cue cards for me, huh, senpai?”

“Without a doubt,” he grumbles, drawing a bold line under the words “insufficient data” in his notes. He turns his face to look up at her, and then frowns as he gazes into her eyes. “You look tired.”

“I don’t want to sleep in my old room,” she admits, glancing away.

“You have any number of rooms to choose from, don’t you?”

“I’m taking my time as I decide,” she says, laughing weakly.

“Hm.” He thinks to himself for just a moment. “Well, it wouldn’t be a problem for you to lie down here, if nothing else. I won’t disturb you.”

She seems to seriously consider his words as she looks past him at the sofa beneath the window, her lips pursed.

“Go on,” he urges her. “Get some rest.”

“Alright,” she says, sounding defeated. She leaves his side, dragging herself to the sofa. She lets out a yawn as she relaxes into the cushions, and his ears pick up the faint sound of fabric stretching under her weight.

He eagerly returns to his work, grateful for the quiet that has once more descended upon the room.

\----------------------------------------------------

His bangs are pressed to his forehead, a pressure against his eyes as he blinks and lifts his face from his tingling arm. There’s a fog surrounding his vision, and his head feels heavy with fatigue as he takes in his surroundings, sunlight streaming into the room and stinging at his eyes.

When did he fall asleep? Judging from the brightness outside, he guesses it must be midday. He scowls as he stands from his chair, steadying himself on his legs. Even he can recognize that he’s reached his limit for today. Without thinking too much about it, he leaves the library and goes to his old room.

He’s momentarily surprised to see pillows laid out and fresh bedding folded neatly on top of the bed, which he carelessly spreads out over the sheets, the sweet promise of sleep rather than propriety at the front of his mind. After removing his vest and pants, he flops onto the bed, the scent of old clothes—left clean and untouched for much too long—filling his nose.

He’s asleep before he can think to miss the scent of the lavender potpourri at his bedside.

\----------------------------------------------------  
  


The mattress bends. There’s a warmth pressed against his back—no, curling around him, enveloping him. He doesn’t know what it means, in his half-conscious haze, but he doesn’t move away. Whatever it is, it’s unrelenting, as it clutches tighter to him, buzzing and trembling against his back. A far-off sound reaches him, rousing him slightly from his dreams, and shaky fingertips reach between the buttons of his shirt and prod at his skin. His heavy eyelids come apart, and he finally understands, the presence behind him shuddering, holding him close.

“Mmn… What is it…?” he murmurs, twisting within the pureblood’s grip, trying to turn on his side. She holds him in place, pressing her face firmly against his back, her breathing loud and uneasy. “What’s the matter?” he tries again, a dim sense of worry washing over him.

She doesn’t respond. She squeezes him tighter, and he feels something moist below the nape of his neck, seeping through his shirt.

“Yuuki-chan… Are you crying?”

She sucks in a sharp intake of breath, and then nods, her forehead digging hard into his spine.

“Hey…” he utters, attempting to twist around again, but she refuses to allow him to. “Hey, say something, would you? Tell me what happened,” he says, going still in her arms, his eyes peering pensively into the empty darkness before him.

“If you laugh… I’ll hate you,” she mumbles softly, her voice breaking just a bit.

“That won’t happen,” he assures her. He tentatively slides a hand over hers, his pulse quickening as she clutches at his chest.

“It was a nightmare,” she says reproachfully.

“A nightmare? Is that all?” he asks, relieved, and then immediately realizes his mistake, backpedaling. “Er, I mean—I just meant it’s good that it’s nothing serious—Ahh...”

“I was waiting for him here, even in my dreams…" she murmurs, choking out little sobs between words. “I’m always waiting for him, waiting to be of use to him… When will I stop being so useless…?”

“Stop talking about yourself in that manner,” he scolds her. “Kaname-sama wouldn’t want you to think of yourself with such insignificance. It would hurt him deeply to hear you say these things.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter, because he’s not here. He’ll never hear me say anything again.”

He feels anger bubbling up inside of him, spilling over into his speech. “You were more precious to him than anything else, don’t you understand that?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Only you can be the one to determine that,” he answers with an irritated tone. “Regardless, the least you could do is respect how much worth he placed in you.”

“I…” she makes out, her whole body trembling as she digs her fingernails into him. “I miss him so much, Aido…”

His heart lurches and aches, and he softens, the muscles in his face relaxing faintly. He closes his eyes.

“Yes,” he whispers, holding her close. “I know you do.”

Silence falls upon them as her tears continue to fall, only breaking when she heaves labored breaths or sniffles into the fabric of his shirt. Her sobs gradually become softer, the pauses between them longer, and eventually, the arms that squeeze around him go weak and loosen their hold. She draws back from him.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, sitting up and rubbing at her cheeks. “I’m relying on you too much.”

He rolls over onto his side to look at her, gazing into her puffy, watery eyes. He tenses his eyebrows, knowing all too well what little he can offer to ease her restless mind.

“That’s not something that bothers me,” he tells her, and he means it.

“You can be sweet when you want to be,” she says, smiling sadly at him. “To be honest, I always thought Yori was too good for you, but I think I see now why she fell in love with you.”

At the mention of his former wife’s name, he looks away, more hurt than he could have been prepared for. “Sayori was too good for me,” he mutters, and suddenly, he misses her terribly.

“That’s true, but you’re a good guy, senpai,” she says, giving him a pat on the head. He upturns his eyes at her, his cheeks turning a bit red.

“I don’t need to be told that,” he murmurs defensively. “H-How did it end up like this…? It was you who was crying just now.”

“That’s mean. I can do more than just cry, you know,” she says, pouting as she settles back into the mattress. She reaches out and runs a hand through his hair, and his eyelids go heavy as he allows himself to enjoy the soothing sensation. After a few moments, she bites her lip and says, “I have something selfish to ask of you.”

“Hmm?” he asks, on the brink of nodding off.

“Can I…” she starts, looking troubled. “Can I have some of your blood?”

His eyes snap open, and he frowns, perplexed. “That isn't something you even need to ask.”

“I’m just… so thirsty…” she murmurs, pulling herself closer to him. Her fangs poke out as she rests her cheek against his shoulder, hovering over his neck, and then she thrusts her teeth into him. Wincing, he relishes in that feeling, as his blood rushes to the spot and flows into her suckling mouth. He’s unable to stop himself from going bright red, but he maintains control over his thoughts as he digs his face into the pillow. She drinks from him for a minute or so, and then cleans the wound, lapping at it delicately as it begins to close up. Once she’s finished, she lays her head back against the pillow, gazing gratefully at him.

“That helped clear my head a little bit. Thanks,” she tells him.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he mumbles, averting his eyes, his face paling slightly.

“I hope I didn’t take too much,” she says sheepishly. He thinks that she seems a bit more like her usual self again, and there’s a warmth that rises to his eyes when he meets her gaze.

“You didn’t,” he reassures her. “Ah, but I am feeling rather tired now…”

“That’s right, I woke you up,” she says, her tone apologetic. “I’ll leave you be,” she continues, shifting away from him, scurrying towards the edge of the bed. He reaches out to snatch her arm before she can emerge from the blankets.

“Er… Aido-senpai…?” She gives him an inquisitive look, but he doesn’t let go, and he avoids looking at her. “What is it?”

“Ah…” he says, his face burning as his fingers tense around her forearm. “Just so you know, you don’t have to leave.”

“Oh,” she says, left slightly dumbfounded by his words. His grip on her doesn’t slacken. “Um… It doesn’t look like you’re giving me a choice, though.”

“I might not be,” he admits.

“Well, which is it? I can’t exactly make a decision with that vice grip you have on me,” she says, only half in jest as she tries to slip out of his grasp.

“Stay,” he tells her, giving her arm a firm tug.

“Oh…”

She looks surprised as he pulls her into his arms, pressing his forehead against her fringe.

“It looks as if you’ve made your choice,” he jests, his tone mischievous, but his eyes betray his true feelings. If she rejects him now, it would utterly crush him. On some level, she knows that this is the price she must pay to see these rare glimpses of his honest side.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” she concedes, the stiffness in her body abating slightly as she offers a weak smile.

“Good,” he says, relief flickering through his blue eyes just before his eyelids shroud them. His arms wrap around her protectively, and one of her legs slides between his own. He thinks he might hear her murmur something, but it’s distant in his ears, and his eyes feel heavy like lead as comfort spreads over him.

It’s the faint aroma of her skin—something like linen and snow, in addition to an earthy, boyish scent he has no name for—that fills his nose as he drifts off to sleep.

This time, he couldn’t miss the smell of lavender even if he tried.


End file.
